The Deathman's Dragons
by The Deathman's Overlord
Summary: What happens if a slightly antisocial, dragon obsessed Ash starts his journey in Kanto with a Deino, not Pikachu? Ash gets thrown from one adventure to the next with a different team, and works his way through his future as a Dragon Master.
1. Chapter 1

_So, quick AN. This darn story is 50k in, thus far, and looking like it might be a monster soon. It is a beast. Yes, some of my rules are different than the rules in the anime or the games. Anyways, have fun!_

_~D. O. _

Ash grumbled to himself as he forced himself up. He had slept really badly, tossing and turning for most of the night. Normally, he would have let himself rest a little longer, but today was a big day, the biggest one in his eleven year long life. It was the day he was going to get his starter.

Today, a Squirtle, a Bulbasaur, and a Charmander would be leaving Pallet Town. Today, the first stage of the three Kanto Titans would be released into the wild, becoming whatever their trainer helped them.

While normally, this would have been a huge deal, it was made even bigger by the fact that Professor Oak only had three of the traditional Kanto starters. There were five of them, including himself, that were supposed to set out today. That meant two of them wouldn't be able to have the normal trainer experience.

Luckily, Professor Oak had just given him a secretive smile, saying that he had an idea, before shooing him off. He groaned again, but got up and dressed.

Ash knew who would get Bulbasaur, a girl named Lillian- Rose Parker. Like most grass types, Bulbasaur were versatile Pokémon, specializing in using status conditions to take down their prey. They were capable of using a variety of attacks, from Poison Powder to Razor Leaf, they could poison and stomp on most Pokémon, especially once they grew into a Venusaur.

He knew that the Squirtle would go to Gary, Professor Oak's grandson. They were the defensive specialists of the trio, with hard shells that became practically impenetrable the older they grew. They could take hit after hit, and still come out of their shell and strike back. Blastoise more so than the others, as it could literally tear through metal with its hydro cannons.

The Charmander on the other hand, could go to Blake Samson or Vesper Cormac, though he was leaning towards Blake getting it. They were the attack specialist of the trio. Their flames, teeth, claws, and tails were all built to damage anything stupid enough to challenge them. By the time it became a Charizard, its true power could be seen. The flames of a Charizard were only one reason why it was considered to be a pseudo- dragon type.

As for himself, well, he had no idea. He too had been leaning towards getting a Charmander, mostly because of his obsession with dragons, but he had stepped back to let the other two fight over the small orange lizard. As much as having a powerful Charizard on his team would help him take the League by storm, he honestly wasn't thrilled about having one of the same Kanto Titans that a third of the population now had.

Ash shook himself a little bit, got dressed quickly, and went through his backpack one more time. He threw on his jacket, an ankle length, high necked, dark purple trench coat, and fixed his black ivy cap over his head. He looked himself over and nodded at his reflection. He had on a short sleeved turtleneck black shirt and dark jeans under his coat. His hands were covered by long, black gloves with purple swirls stitched randomly on them. He may not look like a normal trainer, but he wasn't planning on being one either.

Unlike the other kids, he had a plan. Fuchsia city was his first stop once he had his Pokémon. He would be able to travel by Alakazam from Viridian to the Safari zone almost instantly. From there, he would go south. He had a ticket for three weeks from then to go to Kalos. He had four Pokémon he wanted from the region, and he knew where to find them. He gave himself a month there, before he would head back and dock in Vermillion City. From there, he would end up back where he started.

It was a plan, or the start of one at least. He wasn't sure if he would go challenge the gyms yet or not, seeing as he had a full twenty four months before the Indigo League started. He knew that everyone else wanted to just get their badges out of the way, but he had to be careful. Dragons like the ones he planned on getting, grew very, very slowly. He couldn't rush it unless he wanted to ruin the chances of his Pokémon becoming powerful in their own right.

He needed to take his time, and work on getting them comfortable with their draconic energies before they would be useful against strong trainers like the Gym Leaders. It would take a lot of work to get them anywhere near where the Kanto Titans were, power wise, but eventually, he knew what would happen.

One day, maybe in a few years, his Pokémon would be unmovable titans.

If he stuck to his plan, of course. If not, then he would end up wherever he dreamed he would. Possibly.

He shook himself mentally as he arrived downstairs. His mothers Mr. Mime, Mimey, waved cheerfully at him. He waved back, looking past his mothers other Pokémon, a Cleffable named Star, who just ignored him. The fairy type had a grudge against him for stepping on her a few years prior. He knew her other Pokémon were around somewhere, watching over both her and the house. One, her grumpy Alakazam named Ancient was probably somewhere with Professor Oak's own monster. The other three, a cheerful Beedrill named Sting, was probably stalking his mother like always. Sting liked to think he was invisible, and the others simply played along with it. Her Venusaur, Violetta, was most likely watching the small bakery that she worked at. The last of her once titans was a Nidoqueen named Pearl, and was most likely at the corral, watching over it like a silent protector.

All of his moms Pokémon were powerful in their own right, but they had grown stagnant by the time he came along. He had seen videos of them at their prime, but it was impossible to see them as anything other than another set of lazy protectors. His mom had her adventures, and had settled down to become a mother at nineteen. Not that she stayed as a mother. Oh no, by the time he was eight, she had opened a bakery, and that had become her baby. If he saw her once a week, it was considered a lot. She was a busy lady, and simply didn't have time for him, now that he could take care of himself.

Besides, he knew that she regretted having a child. She regretted getting married. She regretted that she hadn't left him with someone who could have taken care of him, and went back for her dream.

As much as he loved her, Delia Ketchum wasn't meant to be a mother. She loathed the life she had, and practically everything in it.

He didn't want the kind of life that she had. He wanted to always grow, always learn, always be better. It wasn't about fighting or not, it was about being the best he could be. He wanted to be passionate about what he was doing, not ashamed of it. He didn't want to look back ten years from now and wish he had made other choices like his mother seemed to do with him.

Mimey pushed a small package into his hand, making him smile. He had practically been raised by the Mr. Mime, and cared for Mimey more than he did his mother. He knew that Mimey would worry about him, and hope that he was alright. Mimey loved doing the domestic things around the house, including cooking and taking care of Ash.

He knew without having to look that the package was a lunch, made just for him, by his mothers Pokémon. He hugged the psychic type, relaxing into the embrace, before heading out of the house.

The ten minute walk to the Professor's lab was strangely soothing. There were Pidgey everywhere, chasing each other in a game. They were singing loudly, content with their lives for now. A Spearow danced through the air, sending him a grumpy glare as it flew. There were other bird Pokémon around, but none of them enjoyed playing as much as Pidgey did, and few were as territorial as Spearow, instincts constantly demanding them to check for intruders in their space.

Pallet Town was a beautiful place. It wasn't like a big city, no, this was where most Pokémon came to lay their eggs, where they came to be safe. The stronger Pokémon in the area were either captured or moved to a better environment. It wasn't the most well known place in Kanto. In fact, it was hardly mentioned compared to, say, Cerulean City or Saffron City .It had a charm, though. None of the buildings were very tall, and most were made of either brick or wood. The only impressive building in the entire town was Professor Oak's Laboratory. Other than that, there were only a handful of places that weren't homes located in the town.

As one of the most coveted professors, Oak could be as picky as he wanted, and could refuse to allow a family or person to move here. Seeing as most of the people here were families with dreams of letting their children become one of Professor Oak's students, there was hardly any people. Professor Oak only accepted a certain number of students, and most people had to make do with another professor to watch their Pokémon. Most kids had to go to a minor Professor to get their starter.

He was extraordinarily lucky that the man had agreed to take him on. He had learned a lot under the man. He had considered what he wanted to do with his life, but was still mostly undecided. He wanted to be a trainer, that part was obvious, but he wasn't sure where he wanted to go after that. He hoped that he would be able to attend the Indigo League Conference, but after? He was leaning towards becoming a Pokémon doctor. He knew Gary was likely to take after his grandfather and become a researcher, Lillian- Rose wanted to become a coordinator, Blake wanted to become a breeder, and Vesper simply wanted to know everything.

That was what made them stand out compared to most wanna be trainers. They had a passion for knowledge and were willing to put in the work to get where they wanted to go. They wanted to take the world by storm.

Thankfully, they had the opportunity to do so, because they were the students of Samuel Oak. Every single trainer that he had gifted the starter to became someone. He was one of only two professors in all of Kanto that was licensed to give out a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. Unless their parent gifted one to them, other trainers had to make do with one of the other species in Kanto. His mother had been one of Oak's students, making it to the top sixteen her first year in the Indigo League Conference, while his dad had started with something else, a humble, but irritable, Poliwag that had become a fearsome Poliwrath once he had grown up.

He knocked on the door to the lab, and waited semi-patiently. It was still early, somewhere around six as the sun was starting to rise higher into the sky. That didn't mean anything though. They were supposed to meet at six fifteen, so that they had an entire day to bond with their starters and get used to being actual trainers instead of just children.

The door was opened by Gary, who looked just as tired as he felt. The normally energetic brunette simply waved him inside and yawned. He placed his backpack down beside Gary's next to the door, noting that no one else was here yet from the lack of other bags, and followed the half asleep other boy to the main lab.

Gary Oak was not a morning person. His grandfather, on the other hand, looked awake and cheerful with a cup of coffee in his hands. Ash could smell it from across the room. The older man waved happily at him and came across the room quickly.

"Good morning, Ash. Are you ready for today?" The Professor greeted happily, before taking another sip of his coffee.

Ash gave a small shrug. He wasn't sure how to describe how he was feeling. He was nervous, nauseous, excited, a little depressed, and a shaking ball of nerves. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

The Professor gave him a grin. "I remember getting my first Pokémon. Ignus was such a tiny little thing back then." By Ignus, he meant a now Charizard with a bad attitude. It stayed away from the towns people, but acted as a silent threat, along with the Professor's other Pokémon. They were all abnormally strong considering their age. "You know Ash, Ignus was actually the one who gave me the idea for your starter."

He felt dread in his stomach at the thought. "Really." He said dryly. Ignus wasn't his biggest fan, preferring to burn whatever he could reach with a breath whenever Ash was around. It seemed as if Ignus wanted to make him match his name, becoming nothing but ashes under the powerful flames of the Charizard.

The older man nodded excitedly, but held a finger to his lips. "You will have to wait until the others get there to find out what you're getting though."

That made him raise an eyebrow. Normally, one could come and leave within the span of a few minutes. He had never heard of Professor Oak holding back the new trainers until all of them were present. It also meant that he wasn't getting the Charmander. He knew it was coming, but that didn't stop the little ball of disappointment that had started in his stomach. He would get a starter, that much was obvious, but it wouldn't be one of the Kanto Titans.

Still, he just shrugged and sat down next to a half asleep Gary. Once, the two of them had been best friends, going everywhere together and getting into all sorts of trouble. Then, they had started arguing. Gary believed that he would be able to make it to the Champion's Chair by simply blasting his way there. Ash had known that it would take an unbreakable will and precision to even get that far.

It was the first argument they had ever had, and was made a hundred times worse when the two of them heard that Gary's parents died. He had tried to be there for his best friend, but Gary had shoved him away, yelling at him to go slash his throat, before hiding away at his grandfather's. Ash, for his part, still felt awful for yelling, but there was nothing that he could do to repair the relationship they once had.

That had made Ash more cold, turning to frost for a couple of months when his own father had killed himself and Gary had simply laughed. While there was too much water under the bridge to actually fix anything, Ash hoped that one day, Gary would accept him again. Until then, he was fine on his own, watching over Gary from the distance.

He shot his once best friend a concerned look. Gary was used to pulling insane hours, even now. For him to be this tired and out of it, he must have gone without sleep for close to a week. Nightmares, Ash confirmed to himself, shoving the pity he felt rising up back down. The brunette would sleep better once he had a Pokémon nearby. He had as a child, and would now as well.

He stayed quiet as Gary fell deeper and deeper into sleep, freezing only when he felt his soon to be rival's head fall onto his shoulder.

Another knock came at the door, and Ash hushed the Professor before he could wake his grandson with a finger on his lips. Professor Oak simply gave him a beaming smile when he realized the position they had ended up in. For his part, he simply rolled his eyes. It was weird, sure, but if Gary wanted to use him as a pillow, then who was he to deny it? Besides, he thought with a slightly evil smirk, when Gary woke up, Ash would have blackmail. Well, more blackmail. He could never have too much when it came to the cocky brat that was Gary Oak.

Around fifteen minutes later, four people came back into the room. Professor Oak led the way, sipping his coffee to hide his smile, followed by Lillian- Rose dressed in a short ivy green dress and red tights, with a vibrant green jacket decorated with vine designs, Vesper, in his usual dark blue jeans, white shirt, and red hoodie, and Blake, who was in a crimson red vest over a black shirt, with light blue jeans on.

He moved his arm, the one Gary wasn't laying on, and poked the other boy in the head. Gary's long sleeved purple shirt and green jeans were more practical than any of the others. He guessed that Lillian- Rose would tear her tights in less than a week, and Vesper's white shirt would be nothing but scraps in less than two. He wanted to ask if they realized they would most likely be traveling by foot, but kept himself silent.

It wasn't his business.

Gary awoke with a start, causing the other kids to start laughing until Ash glared at them. Unlike Gary, Ash had never been friendly with the other three. Lillian- Rose was a drama queen, who believed that she should always get her way, even when they were still being trained at the academy. She looked down on anyone that wasn't rich. She had curly, bright blonde hair and deep green eyes. She always looked perfectly put together, this morning was no exception. Ash wondered for a moment how she would look after a couple of months on the road, but shoved it out of his head. He really couldn't have cared.

Vesper had been picked on for years, due to his white hair tinted red at the tips. His eyes were cold and black, unfeeling if one didn't know how to look. He was the type that held a grudge against everyone, and had a cruel streak that made him vicious. Ash pitied whatever Pokémon he got, especially if they didn't grow fast enough. They would be abandoned. Probably.

Lastly was Blake, Lillian- Rose's henchman if nothing else. He followed her every word like it was written in the stars. He was a fiery redhead with light lavender eyes, and hated anyone that Lillian- Rose showed even a hint of disdain towards.

He knew that Lillian- Rose and Blake would travel together, though he wasn't sure if they would actually make it to the Indigo League Conference or if they would give up halfway there. Vesper would probably tag along with someone, probably Lillian- Rose and Blake, for a few weeks before leaving them behind in his search for power. Gary would go alone, like he was going to.

He planned on spending some time fishing at the river in the forest around route one, before making his way towards Viridian. He had plenty of time, after all.

Now that all five of them were here, Professor Oak moved towards the head of the room, and removed a sheet from the three pokeballs on his desk. "Good morning, everyone. You five are very special, because you are the future legends of Pallet Town. In front of me, I have the pokeballs for Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander, the official starters of Kanto trainers. Don't be fooled by their size, they have the potential to be massively powerful Pokémon. As you know, because there are five of you, not six, two of you will be going on a slightly different journey than the rest. But I'll explain that more in a minute." The professor clapped his hands together. "Let's get started, shall we? Ladies first, I believe."

Lillian- Rose moved forwards, a determined glint in her eye. She knew which starter she wanted to make her legend with. Her hand hovered over the pokeball on the far left, just for a moment, before her fingers closed around it. Professor Oak nodded to her, as she turned it, and pushed the release button.

The small, green Pokémon with deep scarlet eyes looked around, confused, before spotting the girl still holding the pokeball. Lillian- Rose knelt down next to it, folding her legs gracefully under her and held out her hand. "Hello Bulbasaur. It's nice to meet you. I've been waiting for you for years now." The Pokémon looked at her curiously, and carefully approached. "My name is Lillian- Rose. I'm going to be your trainer from now on."

Slowly, the Pokémon touched her out reached hand with the tip of its nose, and watched as she moved her hand to scratch behind its ear. She smiled beautifully as the little grass type purred under her touch.

"I'm going to return you for a little while, okay? I'll let you back out later, so we can get to know each other." She scratched one more time, before reaching to return the little Pokémon.

"Please leave him out, Lilly dear. I have something else for all of you." The Professor pulled something out of his lab coat, and handed a green and pink device to her as she stood. "Normally, I would give you all pokedex's, but this time, I was asked to try something different. Lilly dear, you are getting a pokedex, one that's set up just for you. I'll let you go through on your own time and figure out the surprises, alright? Now, I believe its Gary's turn to pick his Pokémon."

Gary strode forward tiredly, yawning behind his hand as his fingers closed around the pokeball of his choice, the middle one, Squirtle. He expertly shifted his grip and released the Pokémon. The little turtle was blue and brown, looking at the world with boredom. Squirtle looked around at them, silently judging them with its light red eyes. They finally landed on Gary, who was yawning again.

The Pokémon smirked at him, smugness in its eyes, before launching into a light bubble to wake his trainer up fully. The attack landed, mostly harmlessly. It made Gary fall on his butt, but it had done the job and woke up its trainer fully.

"Thanks for that." Gary said flatly, locking his eyes with the Pokémon. It snickered at him. "You're gonna be a handful. I can already tell." He said, resignation written on his face as the turtle Pokémon snickered again. "At least you have guts."

Ash silently wished his one time friend luck. It seemed like the little water type had an attitude problem. One that would get the two of them into a lot of trouble. Still, it reminded him of a younger Gary, and from the smile that Professor Oak was hiding, he wasn't the only one. It couldn't go to a better person.

Gary walked back to his spot, grumbling as he ran a hand through his now wet hair. He didn't bother trying to return his starter, as Professor Oak had already told him beforehand not to bother. He clipped the pokeball on his belt with his other, and simply glared at the little brat of a Squirtle. "I'm calling you Brat, by the way." He muttered out to the Pokémon, getting yet another smug smirk from his starter.

The professor shook his head in amusement. "For Gary, I have a Pokègear. I was asked to give this to whomever got Squirtle as a starter, with a message of 'Good luck with him.' Ornery little thing, isn't he? Ah, moving on, Vesper, did you want Charm-"

"Yes." The white haired boy interrupted, walking quickly to pick up the third pokeball with a smug look. Blake scowled in annoyance, but said nothing. The orange lizard was released in a moment, and the Vesper sized it up. For a Charmander, it was smaller than average, and it seemed nervous. It waved a little orange paw at its trainer, crooning out its name.

Vesper scowled at it, apparently, it didn't meet his standard, but he was too proud to say anything to Professor Oak, especially since he had interrupted the man. He stuffed the pokeball in his hoodie and moved back to his place in the line.

"This is a C-Gear, Vesper. It will serve you well. And don't let Charmander's appearance fool you. He's a fire type, after all, and has a thirst for battle that will do nothing but grow as he does. Blake, come here for a moment."

The fourth teen took a breath, and followed the professor out of the room. Apparently, his Pokémon was meant to be a surprise. A few minutes later, he came back with a little floating ball behind him.

Ash's eyebrow shot up. That was a Solosis, a rare psychic type that was native to the Unova region. The Professor went all out apparently, to get his starter. Very few people could handle a psychic type Pokémon, and even less knew how to bond with them. For the Professor to trust Blake with a Pokémon like this said a lot.

Finally, it was his turn. He was nervous, especially because Blake was sending him pitying looks, and whispering quietly to Lillian- Rose, who seemed to gain the same look.

Without waiting for the older man to call him forward, he simply headed in the direction that Blake had come from. As soon as they were out of ear shot, the Professor stopped him.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Ash. It took me months to convince the League to let me give you this Pokémon as your starter, especially because it will be impossible for a normal trainer to handle. Ignus brought it to me, because it was terrorizing the beach Pokémon, and those who live on the Cliffside. If you were anyone else, I would never let you take it. I'm saying this so you understand how serious this is." The Professor looked him in the eye. "The League will be watching you, and you will have to prove to them that you can handle this. If not, they will step in and revoke your license. If anyone can handle him, it will be you." And with that, the Professor turned and continued down the hallway until he reached a closed off room.

In it was a metal cage with a black and blue four legged dragon constantly bashing itself against the bars. It was covered in open wounds and sores, but it didn't seem to care. Suddenly, it snarled wildly, sensing that it wasn't alone any longer.

It took Ash all of two seconds to recognize the Pokémon. That was a Deino, a dark/ dragon duel type, and one of the most violent Pokémon in the world, compared only with Sharpedo and Gyarados. Its evolutions, Zweilous and Hydreigon, were known as the two headed demon, and the three headed gatekeeper of hell.

It was like most dragons, regal and dangerous, except it was ten times worse than most others. He could see why Professor Oak had to get special permission for him to take it. The Professor must have cashed in several favors to get the League, including Lance, to allow him to take on the Pokémon.

Even Lance, the Dragon Master Champion, didn't have a Deino, or any of its evolutions. Most Deino had a flee on sight order for trainers with less than seven badges.

Still, his eyes inspected it. The Deino was violent, surprise, surprise, but it wasn't very strong. It was having trouble with the metal bars of a cage, which should have been no problem for it. It wasn't using its dark type energy to get free, or its dragon type energy to blow the cage up. It was simply rushing at it.

The movements were unrefined, and choppy too, showing off how little control it had. He could practically feel the dark type energy bleeding off of it, but it wasn't being used in a way that could benefit the little Pokémon. It was only around two feet tall, if that, and it's black longer fur was matted around its face.

Ash frowned to himself, that would affect its sense of smell, causing the rage to intensify, especially as its fur was longer than usual, covering its nose in a way that it shouldn't. Its ears were hidden under the dark fur as well, probably not helping the terrified creatures. Its shorter blue fur was covered in sticks, thorns, and other things. It needed to be brushed down badly.

He knelt down next to the cage, and simply watched it, taking note that the usually furious Pokémon was more terrified than angry at that point. "Hey there, Deino." He muttered soothingly, not reaching out or even moving just yet. "I know your scared, I would be too if I was in a cage and couldn't smell or hear very well. My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'd like to show the world the power of dragons. I would like to take you with me, and help you become a powerful, unbeatable, titan of a Hydreigon. We would get to fight all different types of Pokémon. It would take a lot of work, but I want to try if you do. Would you like that?"

To his surprise, the Pokémon stopped moving about halfway through his speech, and simply waited, listening as he spoke.

"That would mean no more cages, but you would have to trust me to be your eyes for a while. I want us to be able to work together and become the strongest pair out there. Do you think, if I let you out, that you could stay calm for a little while longer? Just until we get outside? Then I can fix your fur and you should be able to smell and hear again, okay?"

It tilted its head in consideration, before sitting down, its head pointed towards him. He opened the cage, understanding the silence. He had one chance. The second he did something that the Pokémon didn't like, it would snap and prove how dangerous it was.

He kept still as it stood again, and walked slowly towards him. He could sense the dark type energy getting ready to hurt him if he hurt it. Slowly, it butted its head against his arm, getting permission to pet it. He did, moving slowly towards its snout and moving the long fur out of the way. It took a long, curious sniff, and nodded slightly.

Professor Oak had stayed back, not wanting to provoke the dark/ dragon type. Slowly, Ash stood up, and very carefully, he picked up the dragon. "I'm going to call you Barastyr. It means 'Ruler of the Dead'. Do you like that?"

"Dei." It grumbled out, accepting the nickname for now. Barastyr stayed still as the Professor handed him his pokedex, or actually, Pokènav, he noticed with surprise. He tucked it inside his trench coat, shifting the blue and black Pokémon slightly so he could reach the pocket he wanted. After it was tucked away, the Professor gave him Barastyr's pokeball, and he clipped it on his right side, seeing as he was left handed, it would make it easier to grab in battle or in an emergency.

Once he was set, the two of them, with Barastyr still calmly in Ash's arms, went back to the others. He had been gone around ten minutes, he guessed, but no one rushed a dragon type. Especially a dragon type that was also a dark type.

He mentally adjusted the team he would need to keep up with the titan of death in his arms. He still wanted a Kingdra and Dragonite, so he still needed a Horsea and Dratini. Axew and Gible were probably good choices, as they would be able to keep up with Barastyr. He wasn't sure what his last one would be, but he supposed he would figure it out later. Right now, he wanted to focus on the Pokémon in his arms.

Gary's eyes widened when he came into view, Blake and Lillian- Rose had dropped their jaws, even though they had known what he was getting, in surprise, while Vesper almost fell over. Barastyr wasn't a typical starter. There were very few people who were allowed to pick up a Deino, and even fewer who were able to carry them around.

"Now that all of you have your Pokémon, I have one last thing to ask of you. Have fun. Take chances. Learn new things. Don't let fear hold you back. Don't be afraid of failure, and don't let it hold you back. Right now, you can be anyone you want to be, and you can do anything you want to do. You kids are the future that us old folk look to. I wish all of you luck with your journey, and I hope that each of you stays safe, and finds whatever you are looking for out of your lives." The Professor made a show of bowing to them in an over the top way, before shooing them out of his lab.

All five stopped by the door, looking at their bags lined up one by one. They looked at each other, and Ash picked up his bag first, before taking his first steps out of the lab.

He was as ready as he could be.


	2. Chapter 2

He sat against a boulder, waiting for a bite on his fishing line. Barastyr looked a lot better than he had that morning, wounds healed by a potion and a good three hours of brushing and grooming later, the dark dragon looked not only healthier, but happier.

The little Pokémon was napping finally, in the sunlight, after playing and ramming trees for the last hour. Barastyr had scared away all of the local Pidgey and Ratatta but he wasn't going to stop the little one from having his fun. He had been fishing seriously for the last half hour, and hadn't gotten a single bite yet. Not that he was surprised. He was out of the way, about a forty- five minute walk from where route one was marked, and about four hours from Pallet town.

While Lillian- Rose had taken her time, with Blake by her side, Gary and Vesper had taken off down route one. They would ditch each other as soon as they reached Viridian, of that he was sure. Ash, on the other hand, had walked at a sedate pace after cleaning up his starter, and enjoyed being out in nature for a while, before veering off of route one to a nearby stream. Fishing wasn't his favorite activity, but he wanted Barastyr to get some experience against the slippery water type Pokémon.

He had already scanned his partner, and the little dragon dark type had surprised him. Barastyr already knew Bite, Crunch, Focus Energy, Headbutt, and Dragon Pulse. It was a crazy powerful moveset for such a young Pokémon. It had not one, but two egg moves, Ice Fang and Earth Power, that would probably take forever to unlock correctly. Well, Earth Power would. He had a feeling that Barastyr would have fun torturing his other Pokémon once he got Ice Fang down.

He still needed to check the strength of Barastyr's moves, mostly because he had a feeling that, although Barastyr had a wide range of moves, he hadn't bothered to master any of them yet. Ash considered training before fishing, but he couldn't wait to have his first battle. He knew that Barastyr felt the same way.

A sharp tug tore him out of his thoughts on which moves needed to be perfected before Barastyr could move onto learning something new. He reeled it in quickly, tugging the Pokémon up and out of the water, ignoring the splashing that threatened to soak him. Whatever it was, it was strong, and it didn't want to come up.

After a fight lasting the better part of ten minutes, he finally got it tired enough to not resist him, and muttered for Barastyr to get ready. They were about to have their first fight.

The Pokémon broke the surface and raged as it was pulled onto the land. At first, he didn't recognize it, as it was a dark purple, almost black, color. It took him a moment to identify it as a Horsea, one with a very bad attitude problem, if its glowing red eyes told him anything. It growled at him, spikes leaking with a potent poison as it watched him. That was its first mistake. It thought that he was more of a threat than Barastyr, who was quickly growing annoyed with being ignored.

"Okay Barastyr, let's try crunch." He commanded wanting to see how well the irate Pokémon listened in battle. To his surprise, the blue Pokémon rushed forward, chasing the Horsea further from the water, and bit it in his powerful jaws.

The Horsea blew a jet of ink at Barastyr, but it wasn't going to even slow him down. He couldn't see anyways. "Crunch again, then Headbutt." Ash watched with careful eyes as the moves were executed. While Barastyr had a nasty set of strong teeth, his crunch was far weaker than it should be. The Pokémon wasn't putting enough dark power into the attack, making it little more than a bite attack.

The orders were followed quickly and effectively. Against a strong opponent, Barastyr's attacks would mostly just bounce off, but against a Horsea, it did extremely well. The Headbutt slammed not only Barastyr, but the Horsea into the boulder he had been resting against earlier. That would need to be worked on, big time.

He reached into his trench coat and fingered a pokeball for a moment, before unclipping it from his belt and priming it for capture. "Crunch, one more time." While a part of him wanted to see how advanced the other attacks were, he couldn't risk the Pokémon they were fighting being able to escape.

The Horsea, seeing the pokeball, started struggling even more, sending a Bubble Beam at Barastyr, before using a surprising amount of control and swinging the beam towards him. He ducked, but Barastyr had used the time that Horsea was distracted to sneak up behind it, showing off its dark tendencies, before crunching down on its armored scales one last time.

It was strong for the area, but the Horsea didn't stand a chance against Barastyr's powerful jaws. It tried retreating, but he threw the pokeball, knowing that the moment was right.

The Horsea clearly fought the pokeball. It took a good minute for it to finally click, the sound of a successful capture. He smiled, and walked over to it, picking it up and putting it on his belt. He had a new teammate, but Barastyr deserved some praise first.

"I'm so proud of you!" He gushed out, kneeling beside his still new Pokémon. "You did so well, Barastyr, that Horsea didn't stand a chance against your crunch attack." He rubbed the blue Pokémon's head with his hand, before reaching in his bag to grab a cloth so that he could clean up the ink that messed up Barastyr's fur.

It took him another twenty minutes to get all of it off and Barastyr's fur back to pristine. Once that was done, he looked at his newest Pokémon's pokeball.

He had never seen a Horsea that was so aggressive. Usually, they were pretty meek, but this one had no problem going right into battle, and only tried to retreat when it was obvious that the Horsea would lose. In a fair fight, he couldn't say that Barastyr would win. Then again, he had heard several rumors that so called shiny Pokémon were far more aggressive than others of their species.

While he had never seen one before, the Horsea certainly proved to him that it was possible. Then again, the Horsea could have simply been one that had been avoiding capture. It wasn't common, but some Pokémon just didn't want to have a trainer. They utterly refused to work with them, ignoring pretty much every command given.

He really, really hoped that wasn't the case. Barastyr was still hesitant about him being around. He wasn't sure how he could get both stubborn Pokémon to listen to him, but he would make it work.

Excitement filled him as the reality of what he had just done sunk in. Ash couldn't believe his luck in finding the shiny Horsea, especially as the first Pokémon he had encountered as a trainer. It would become a fearsome Kingdra if he had a say in the matter, especially as it was able to battle so well on land. It wasn't just flopping around uselessly, either, it had hopped, using its tail to get around.

He was impressed by the fighters spirit that the Horsea had. He kept Barastyr by his side as he released the water type, watching as it watched him with the same scarlet eyes the species was known for. It seemed resigned, making him frown.

"Hi there, Horsea. You put up an awesome fight. I can't believe something so strong is still here of all places. I know Barastyr enjoyed it. Not much can make him run around like you did." He sat down and pet Barastyr, keeping his eyes locked on the Pokémon in front of him. "I want to become a Dragon Type Trainer, and I think that you could become the most powerful Kingdra in the world, even stronger than Lance's. I need Pokémon like you to have any chance of getting anywhere. Barastyr and I can't do it alone, we need powerful friends, like you. What do you say? Will you work with me?" He asked calmly, holding out a hand.

Ash took a moment to admire the Horsea, it was strong, young, and its scales were mostly an inky purple, except on its stomach, where there were a gleaming gold. This Pokémon had the power and grace that would only intensify as it got more experienced.

Finally, the water type nodded to him, bowing its head slightly in submission. Unlike Deino's, Horsea, one they pledged their loyalty, were unmovable Pokémon. They would always trust their trainers impeccably, no matter the situation. The little one would grow wiser with every battle, but seemed to have that same thirst that Barastyr did.

"I want to give you a nickname, something that will set you apart from any other Horsea, because you are special, and you are my partner. How about Hydros?" He asked. It, well, he, spit a glob of ink next to Ash, making it clear that he didn't like it. "Oceanius then. It means Oceans Master."

That one seemed agreeable, Oceanius nodded, and Barastyr growled in greeting.

Ash just sent the Pokémon a small smile. He pulled his Pokènav from his pocket and held it out so that the newly named Oceanius could see it. "I'm going to scan you with this. It will let me know a little bit about you, but won't even tickle. Alright?"

The beam hit the small black Pokémon, making it cock its head to the side.

Horsea- the Dragon Pokemon. Known to shoot down flying bugs with precision blasts of ink from the surface of the water. This Horsea is male, and has the ability Sniper. He knows the moves bubble, Smoke screen, Water gun, and Bubble beam. He has the egg move of Toxic.

He let out a low whistle. Only one non special attack. He made a note to work on its close ranged attacks. To be fair, most Horsea weren't close ranged fighters, being the sniper type, Oceanius was primed to stay back and fight. He needed more variety though, something like Headbutt, but he would think through a training plan that night.

That decided, he headed upstream, knowing that he was around an hour and a half away from Viridian. By using the stream as a guide, it cut off a day's worth of travel, as it was far more of a direct path. He knew he would be the first one to Viridian.

He wasn't in a hurry, not really. He would get there when he got there. He planned on spending a day or two in the forest before the Alakazam came to get him, just so he could get a little more experience before he set out for Fuchsia City. He really needed to test out both of his Pokémon's attacks, so that he could find their limits.

He took a few minutes to treat Oceanius's bite marks, then another ten to polish his scales until they gleamed in the light. Both of his Pokémon were well groomed and content at the moment. Instead of carrying Barastyr this time, he was carrying Oceanius, with Barastyr trotting along beside him. He was more than happy with how the day had gone so far.

He made a mental note to ask Professor Oak how to best care for his new addition, and if the man had any tips when it came to his starter. Ash knew better than to think that just because Barastyr was listening to him at the moment, it would last.

Around an hour later, he stopped again, this time for lunch. It was probably around two in the afternoon by that point. He placed Oceanius down next to him on the left, while Barastyr took a seat on his right. He fussed over his bag for a few minutes, and took out a bag of wet pokèfood that he knew Oceanius would need. He placed some in a bowl and set it in front of his newest ally. Then he took out the dry food and piled it high in another bowl. Barastyr would have a ferocious appetite, and would require at least two times the amount of food as any other Pokémon he had, up to four times as much as he grew.

He pulled out his own lunch, given to him by Mimey earlier, and ate the sandwiches happily. He would grow used to eating trainers meals, but that didn't mean he wouldn't miss Mimey's excellent cooking.

They spent half an hour eating lunch, though Barastyr was done in just over fifteen minutes. Ash packed everything away after cleaning it at the stream. It was strangely nice just sitting with his Pokémon and relaxing instead of arguing.

He looked further upstream with a small frown. He wanted to get in a little more practice before he reached Viridian. He and Barastyr had to get in sync for the dragon to be the most effective battler he could be. They needed to have strategies that would trip up stronger opponents, tricks that could get them out of bad situations, and plans for practically everything.

Dragon's grew slowly, none slower than the Deino line. But with the proper time and effort, he would grow. That meant he needed to fight a lot more weaker opponents before they would be ready to fight a stronger one.

He fished and battled for hours, healing up Barastyr and working with him until he was exhausted, before switching to Oceanius. The water type clearly loved battling. Though he only knew four moves, Bubble, Smoke Screen, Bubble Beam, and Water Gun, it had clearly mastered them and used them interchangeably. First, Oceanius would blind his opponent, then it would send Bubble after Water Gun after Bubble at them before its foes were defeated. Funny enough, Oceanius had far less control over Bubble then it did over the more challenging Bubble Beam.

Ash had found a dozen Magikarp, a couple of Krabby, a few more Horsea, and three Staryu, before they moved the battle exclusively to land. Ratatta and Pidgey fell to the wrath of Barastyr and Oceanius. He knew he wasn't the only one starting to get bored. His team was perfectly fine, as none of the Pokémon put up a good fight, besides one massive Krabby who had gotten a good pinch to Barastyr's leg before getting pulverized.

He had considered catching one of the Magikarp. He had always wanted the titan that was a Gyarados, but none of them had a fighting spirit, and none of the one's that he fought even tried to resist or showed any intelligent strategies. He was being picky, but considering that these Pokémon would be with him for the rest of his life, he felt like he had the obligation to be picky.

It didn't matter what his future dragon Pokémon looked like, if they were small and aerodynamic or bulky and made for taking hits. As long as he could see some sort of fire in their eyes, he would try to catch them. They would have their own personalities, their own likes, and things that they hated.

As he battled, he couldn't help but notice some things about his new team. Firstly, Barastyr deserved the title of vicious and blood thirsty. He rarely wanted to stop a fight, even after he had clearly won. If Ash had let him, Barastyr would have left a trail of bodies behind them. Barastyr also had a lot less patience than Ash did, and grew annoyed at the smallest mistake. Even after hours of battling, the Deino's absolute hatred of those weaker than it shined like a flash in a cave.

Oceanius on the other hand, was far calmer. He seemed content battling whoever and whatever was put in his way. He had a bit of a grudge against the other Horsea that he battled, but otherwise, he seemed able to snap from battle mode to regal in a split second. He had an air about him, one of elegance and royalty, that was far different than Barastyr's cold and Bloodthirsty one.

They didn't seem to like each other very much. Thankfully, Barastyr didn't show the same absolute hatred for Oceanius that he did for the other Pokémon in the area, but Ash doubted they would ever become actual friends. Teammates willing to fight together to take down a larger opponent? Possibly. Not friends.

He needed to have a talk with Barastyr about that. His starter would be the support of his entire team, and if he kept up the loner attitude, which had to be difficult, the team could crumble. He would need his starter to have a relationship with the rest of the Pokémon he caught, otherwise, why was he bothering with this in the first place?

To be fair, he knew himself well enough to know that he was probably in shock. He had never expected to have a Pokémon like Barastyr as his starter. He never thought that he would find a Horsea with such a need for battle. He had half expected to wind up with a starter from another region, or possibly another from Kanto, as he knew for a fact that Professor Oak had at least a dozen of each starter running around at his ranch. The last thing he expected was for Blake to end up with a Solosis and himself to have a Deino.

Why had they gotten those particular Pokémon? As far as he knew, Blake didn't have a preference towards one type, like he did. He liked the more flashy Pokémon, like Charizard and Machamp. So why had Professor Oak given him something like a Solosis? Something that grew slower than most Pokémon, yet into a powerful demon if given direction?

How convenient was it that Ignus had simply stumbled across a Deino at the Cliffside? How had a Pokémon like that even ended up on the southern beaches of Kanto in the first place? What were the chances of a dragon showing up, probably less than a day prior?

Slim. Very slim. If professor Oak had known about his starter for months, like he had claimed, then how had Ash never seen or heard about it?

But why would Oak lie to them? What purpose did telling him that he had found his starter by the Cliffside, but also telling him that he had to get special permission for him to take the Pokémon, have?

He felt cold.

Were they headed towards another war? That would make sense. He had heard about three regions being practically overtaken a few months ago. Almia, Fiore, and Oblivia. All three had extremely tight security. No trainers were allowed near their borders, and their Rangers viciously made sure of that.

Still, it would take more than an army of smaller regions to be a threat to Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or any of the other places. Maybe Alola, because of its extremely small size compared to the others, but he doubted it. Alola was protected do to its isolated nature. It was practically impossible to get to the Islands without being seen, and probably stopped, before one could make it there.

He shook himself as Oceanius finished off yet another Staryu. If it happened, then he would be drafted. If not, then he was worrying over nothing. He was a newbie trainer, it was his first day. How much damage could he actually do at the moment?

He returned Oceanius, taking note of how his eyes were mostly closed and how he was more than half asleep. Still, he didn't want to be completely alone. He glanced down at Barastyr, considering, before picking him up and carrying his tired starter upstream toward the city. They had done all they could for now. He had seen an improvement, even if only a small one, when it came to Oceanius's Bubble. Barastyr's Crunch was slightly stronger. It would take months before there was a noticeable difference for Barastyr, but that's what Dragons were known for.

He knew he was getting close to the Pokémon Center, probably less than half an hour out, when he saw the sign by the river, a Trainer Tip sign. As he walked, he finally encountered another trainer, a girl who was a little older than him in a yellow tank top and blue jean shorts with red hair tied in a short ponytail on the side of her head. Normally, either of them would challenge each other, but he stayed quiet. He ignored her, knowing that his Pokémon weren't ready for a battle yet, and she seemed invested in her fishing. She was mumbling to herself, and clearly in a horrible mood. He had no idea what she was saying, only that she was extremely angry.

The rest of the path was mostly silent, with the exception of a few younger Pokémon being cocky. This was going to be his new normal. Alone, except for his Pokémon, occasionally coming across another trainer who would be living their own lives. He would be living off of trainer meals for the most part, and sleeping wherever he could find a place to set up camp. His income would depend on his skills and how well his team fit together.

A part of him considered going over to the girl and trying to talk to her, but he shook the thought out of his head. Some people needed to travel in groups and were able to gain followers, like Lillian- Rose and Blake. Others, like Vesper, were dependant on the solitude. People like him, and Gary honestly, could go either way. Still, his social skills were horrible, at best, and it wasn't worth the chance of him accidently making things worse for the girl.

He could still hear several Pokémon playing in the distance, growing and working on their skills. As little as most people wanted to think about it, Pallet Town, and Route One, were essential homes for younger Pokémon. They had so few predators here that even novices such as himself could safely walk alone without being bothered.

Well, usually. A loud, rumbling roar burst out of the water behind him. Ash felt himself jump, and turned on his heel to see a Gyarados rampaging on the stream. The Pokémon had clearly just evolved, and had gone into a rage because of it. Very few people considered how badly evolutions hurt Pokémon. In order to gain a new power, their very DNA had to tear itself apart in order to become stronger. Their bodies stretched, limbs were gained and lost. Because of that, it was very common for Pokémon to lose control of themselves for the first few hours after an evolution. Some types coped better, like the Voltorb family. Others, like the Magikarp family, almost always lost control.

It had been chewing on a Pokémon, which sadly happened all the time when Magikarp finally evolved. They were some of the most violent Pokémon, especially in the first day or so after their evolution. He could see the blood of the smaller Pokémon staining the Gyarados' scales as it shook its massive head.

He had no idea what unfortunate Pokémon had ended up being the monsters chew toy, all he could see was it had been purple, small, and thin. So, a water type, most likely just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The beast threw the Pokémon with a flick of its head. It was small for a Gyarados, only around fifteen feet in length, but it had considerable girth. The crests on its head were bigger than they should have been, making the Pokémon look more awkward, but that didn't mean it wasn't still a threat to not only him, but to everyone and everything around.

He knew just how much damage a Pokémon like this could do, and he was terrified for the people in Viridian.

The girl sent out a Pokémon, a Starmie to fight it, but his attention was on the purple Pokémon. It was badly hurt. He returned Barastyr, ignoring his growls, and primed a pokeball to catch the injured Pokémon. He had to take it to Nurse Joy, and quickly. It would die if he did nothing.

He huffed and threw it. The Pokémon was so weak that it didn't even fight the catch, clicking almost immediately. He picked it up and booked it towards the city. As much as he wanted to look back, or help the girl, neither of his Pokémon were strong enough to take on a Gyarados, even a newly evolved one.

Legs burning, lungs aching, but he didn't stop, or look back. He couldn't. Yes, the Pokémon was in stasis, but even that wouldn't be enough to stop it from dying. He rushed past the gate to Viridian. An Officer Jenny yelled after him as he sped past her, ignoring everything until he saw the bright red roof that every Pokemon Center was known for.

He almost ran into the sliding door, and crashed into the front desk. He ignored the looks he was getting and pulled the pokeball from his belt.

"I was walking and passed a Gyarados that had been mauling this Pokémon. I don't know what it is, but i had to catch it to make sure it would live. Please help it." He forced out.

The redheaded nurse who was almost always smiling had a dark frown on her face by the time he was done explaining, and practically snatched the pokeball from his hand. Nurse Joy turned on her heels, with her Chansey following closely, and yelled for one of her assistants to take over the front while the rest would prepare for surgery.

As soon as she disappeared behind the doors, Ash let out a sigh. "Can I get a room?" He asked the assistant, a frowning blonde named Cassie from her name badge.

She simply tossed him a room key. He gave her his Pokènav for a moment so that she could get his information and register the Pokémon in surgery to him. Once the paperwork was done, he headed to the waiting area and sat down in a booth, simply watching the door.

There was nothing else that he could have done, he told himself firmly. As much as he hated running away, there was no other choice. Barastyr was too weak to take on anything even half the size of the beast, and Oceanius's Water Gun would have just bounced off. They were too weak to do anything else. Besides, he had made sure that the Pokémon had a chance at survival.

To his surprise, an Officer Jenny sat down across from him. "Long day, kiddo?" She asked, her brown eyes shining in sympathy.

Ash let his head fall forward a bit, one hand subconsciously reaching for Barastyr's pokeball. He glanced up at her, knowing that she would end up investigating this mess. "I didn't want to catch it, but it was too big to carry, and it wouldn't have made it here. Not with how much it was bleeding." He explained carefully, never removing his hand from the pokeball.

Usually, the League left trainers to catch their Pokémon how they wanted, but there were some no no's. Firstly, catching a Pokémon that someone else was battling. It was poor educate, and a mark of a weak trainer. Second was catching a dying Pokémon. Normally, it was heavily frowned on, especially if it was due to a wild fight. He should have let it die, as was the way of Pokemon, but nothing deserved that brutal of a death.

To his surprise, Officer Jenny just nodded at him. "I know, you did the right thing. It's almost impossible to step back and let a Pokémon die, especially if you can do something about it." She tapped her gloved fingers on the table and looked at him. "How long have you been a trainer?" She asked curiously.

He gave her a sardonic smile and handed her his Pokènav, with his trainer license already pulled up.

Her eyebrows shot up as she read. "Since this morning, huh. You got here pretty quick then. I take it you followed the stream?"

He shrugged eyes glancing from her to the door that Nurse Joy had gone behind. Officer Jenny messed with his Pokènav for a moment, and her mouth turned into an 'o'. "You're Ash Ketchum." She said flatly.

He blinked once. "Yes."

"You're the kid Oak let have the Deino. I was warned about you. Has it gone crazy and left you yet?"

Ash rolled his eyes and simply released Barastyr. The little dark dragon took a moment to sniff all of the smells, and take in the sounds, which were practically silent after Ash released him. Content that everything was fine, he turned to his trainer and growled annoyed.

Ash just laughed. "I know, I know." He told Barastyr, "But you can't fight a Gyarados yet, Bara."

Barastyr growled again, indignantly.

"You're exhausted, Barastyr. You can barely walk in a straight line. It's been a long day. But, if you really have that much energy, I'm sure we can go train some more."

That got Barastyr to back down, grumpily. The Deino was pretty tired, and didn't want to fight any more. Not for the next hour anyways.

Ash patted his lap, and the Pokémon jumped up onto the seat, curled up, and decided to take a nap. Barastyr would wake up if there was any danger to his human, and he would protect the silly human for now. The human had brushed his fur, and had helped him get the disgusting ink off, and had healed its sores. The human had given him the name of Barastyr, and he liked it well enough to help the defenseless human... for now.

Ash immediately started running a hand through Barastyr's longer black fur on his head, and looked at Officer Jenny with a single raised eyebrow.

She just laughed quietly, not wanting to seem like a threat to the sleeping menace. "Seems like you have him pretty well under control."

Barastyr growled sleepily at that, and Ash shushed him. "More like we have an agreement."

Either way, the vicious Pokémon from that morning was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was just a cuddling, sleepy Barastyr.

Officer Jenny nodded at him and got up, giving him a slight smile as she walked off. He nodded back and returned his eyes to the door. The sleeping Barastyr convinced everyone else to leave him alone, thankfully.

It took almost four more hours before the surgery light turned off from over the door that he had been watching. He felt himself stiffen in his seat. Barastyr got off of him and sat next to him, head butting his arm gently as they waited. It was another ten minutes before Nurse Joy came out from the same door she had gone through.

She looked around tiredly, and approached him, freezing when she saw Barastyr sit up straighter. Ash simply returned his starter and got up, going over to her.

"How is it? Is it okay?" He asked nervously, trying to keep his expression blank as he prepared himself for bad news.

Nurse Joy simply smiled softly at him. "She's in recovery right now, and she's pretty out of it, but she should heal. She has over a hundred stitches, and is going to need some help shedding her skin for the next month or so, but nothing vital was punctured. She's extremely lucky that you got to her when you did."

Ash let out a breath of relief. "Can I...?"

She nodded, but fixed him with a stern glare. "Only for a few minutes, young man. You're practically dead on your feet, and you need your rest as much as she does. Five minutes, then you have to eat dinner and go to bed. Deal?"

He nodded. It wasn't even really his Pokémon, but he knew that he wouldn't get any sleep if he was worried about the Pokémon he had saved earlier.

Nurse Joy opened her mouth to say something, but closed it quickly, guiding him to the recovery room in the back instead.

As soon as he opened the door, his heart stopped. The purple Pokémon wasn't a Tentacool, like he half expected, but a Dratini. It, well, she, was smaller than average, probably only around four and a half feet long, and seemed to have more of a light purple hue to her scales than a light blue. Her underbelly was a beautiful silver, making her look even more exotic. He stepped closer. He had never actually seen a Dratini in person, but even covered in bandages and wires, it was clearly one of the most majestic Pokémon in the world.

And she was off colored too. How strange. He made a mental note to ask Professor Oak about the shiny Pokémon near route one, as he had never seen two of them this close together. Then again, Dratini lived in lakes, not streams usually.

He reached out an unsteady hand and rested it gently on her scales. She grumbled a bit at his touch and sleepily opened one large, black eye to see why she was being touched. After a few moments, she closed her eyes again, apparently accepting the strange trainer was now hers and had saved her.

All too soon, he was being gently pushed from the room and guided to the cafeteria. He wasn't particularly hungry, but he had promised to eat something. He didn't care what, and grabbed the first thing he could get, ate quickly, and headed to his room to sleep.

This day had been insane, and he already had three Pokémon. How? He took a quick shower and jumped into bed, only having the mental ability to remember to let out his Pokémon. Thankfully, there was a tank on the opposite side of the room, one where Oceanius seemed quite content resting in. Barastyr jumped from the bed and laid down, sprawling out on the carpet with his head facing the door, just in case.

Once that was done, he turned over, having the presence of mind not to suffocate himself on the pillow, before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A loud, vicious snarl tore Ash from his dreams of stadiums, lights, and a powerful Hydreigon. It took him a few seconds to recognize that the noise wasn't a fully grown Barastyr, but his small Deino self. He blinked several times, trying to figure out what threat his starter had noticed that he had missed.

Oceanius glared from his tank, poisonous barbs already extended in preparation to attack. Barastyr's hackles were raised as he stood by the door. Thankfully, the Deino hadn't started trying to ram the door down to get to whatever it was that he heard, but Ash doubted it would last. The Deino species wasn't known for its patience, and frankly, it was incredible that Barastyr had waited for him to wake up before charging.

Ash pulled on his socks, leaving his shoes by the bed, and strapped on his belt over his pajamas. He doubted that there was anything seriously wrong, but he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to bed without checking it out first.

The dully lit room went fully dark, making Ash freeze for a few moments. He returned Oceanius, using the light of the beam to see Barastyr was starting to paw at the door. He considered returning his starter as well, but he wasn't stupid enough to go investigate without having some kind of protection.

The emergency lights flickered into existence, lighting the room enough for him to navigate his way to the door. He took a deep breath and opened the door, barely moving out of the way as Barastyr shot past him. It couldn't be too dangerous, after all, this was Giovanni's city, and no one wanted to piss off the most powerful gym leader in Kanto.

He closed the door as quietly as he could and followed the sound of snarling. One of these days, he would have to teach Barastyr how to be at least slightly inconspicuous when they were possibly in a dangerous situation.

One day, Barastyr would be able to rush into whatever situation he wanted to, but that day was at least a year away.

Ash felt his heart start beating overtime as his eyes saw what was happening in the lobby. Barastyr was being occupied by two Pokémon. One was a purple and yellow snake like creature, Ekans, and the other was a floating purple ball of gas, Koffing. They didn't seem very strong, likely new additions to whomever was attacking the centers team. A third Pokemon, a cream colored cat like Pokémon called Meowth, stood next to two humans, arms crossed over its chest in boredom. Its cockiness was beyond irritating, but Ash restrained himself from saying anything as he took in the rest of the room.

Nurse Joy was against the wall, fear in her eyes and hands raised as a Gastly watched her every breath. That Pokémon looked a little stronger than the others, and a little meaner. The only other people in the room were both dressed in white. One was a male, with bluish purple hair and bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle in malice. He was glancing back and forth between the battle and the nurse.

The woman had extremely long wine red hair and dark blue eyes. She didn't bother dividing her attention, eyes glued to the Ekans. She laughed when she saw Barastyr, almost curling in half from her laughter. Her teammates had to hold her up, scolding her slightly. It was clear that they didn't recognize Barastyr as a Deino, which made sense seeing as the Pokémon wasn't native to the Kanto region.

On the other hand, Ash knew exactly who he was dealing with: two members of the Rockets. Team Rocket was a fairly old group, having been around for around fifty years by this point. They were known for stealing rare Pokémon and selling them illegally. Unlike the gangs from, say, Hoenn, Team Rocket had no problem using fatal methods. They had caused several hundred deaths since the end of the Last Great War eight years prior.

No one knew who ran it, only that they were impossible to get rid of. Every time the League found and eradicated a cell of the gang, another three popped up in its place. They had a massive reach over not only Kanto, but Johto, Unova, the Sevii Islands, and Alola. Whoever ran it was clearly a threat to the entire world, but no one wanted to acknowledge it.

Ash knew for a fact that he had no chance at actually winning, especially if Meowth and Gastly joined in, but he also knew that if he didn't try, it was possible that Nurse Joy would end up dead and all of her charges would mysteriously disappear. He couldn't do much, but he could make enough noise that it would draw others out. Hopefully, there were at least a few strong trainers staying at the Center tonight.

Ash took a deep breath and stepped forward towards his starter. He released Oceanius, and got himself ready for the fight of his life. There were no other ways out of the Pokémon center, and hopefully, Nurse Joy had been able to call for help.

The two Rockets, both of whom seemed like they were in their late teens, exchanged exasperated looks.

"I'm not holding Imelda back from eating the kid." The woman told her partner.

The blue haired man turned slightly green. "Ugh, do you have to? We're going to see his body for a few weeks while she digests him."

The woman deadpanned. "Like Balthazar hasn't done worse things. The damned plant just likes to play, Imelda needs to eat in order to grow."

"True." The man sighed heavily. "Why couldn't all of my Pokémon be like Abaddan? He doesn't make me sick."

The Koffing seemed to chuckle, while the Ekans flicked its tongue out, tasting the air in a taunting, exaggerated way. Meowth, on the other hand, just glared at the trainers.

"Why would you want all of your Pokémon to act like that dunce?" Meowth asked angrily, sharpening its, his, claws as it looked directly at the male Rocket.

Ash choked, staring at the small normal type. Had it just talked? Was he still asleep? Was this all just a strange dream? It had to be, Pokémon couldn't talk.

It seemed like his staring was annoying the normal type, and it moved its glare from the Rocket to him. "What's ya problem? Never seen a talkin' Meowth before?"

Ash blinked at it. "Actually, no. I can't say I have." He took a breath, hardening his own eyes. "I'd think a Meowth intelligent enough to learn how to talk would be smart enough to know better than to break into a Pokemon Center. Especially in Giovanni's town!" He scoffed. "I guess your both the smartest and stupidest Meowth I've ever seen."

The Rockets seemed surprised by his words, but Nurse Joy seemed to think he was an idiot. To his surprise, the female Rocket just chuckled. "We've got a gutsy one this time, James."

The male nodded. "I suppose we do. I wonder if he knows who he's talking to, or if he's as stupid as he looks."

"I suppose he should prepare for trouble." She said teasingly, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

A small smirk grew on the man's face. "Well, we'll make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation. "

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie." She blew Ash a small kiss, teasingly trying to take away from the sheer cold fear he was feeling.

He bowed deeply, exaggerating every part of the movement. "James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight." James' eyes twinkled, knowing that their silly rhyme had done its job and disturbed the younger trainer. Ash couldn't believe he had stumbled on Rockets here of all places, but tried not to show his unease. He just needed to make some noise, to draw people who could beat them out. He didn't need to win, he just had to stall.

"Meowth that's right!" The Pokémon chipped in happily, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest.

Ash felt his lips twitch. Was he terrified? Yes. Was that the stupidest thing he had ever heard in his entire life? Also yes. He wanted to laugh, if only because of the ridiculousness of their lovely poem, but he knew better.

"Crunch on the Ekans, show it who has the most powerful jaws. Bubblebeam on the Koffing, keep it back and away from us, Oceanius." He commanded, keeping his voice low. Neither of his team members had flashy moves, but hopefully, Bubblebeam would do some damage against the poison type, even if it wasn't much.

It was times like this he wished he had a full grown team, because then he could actually do something. Still, he had only been a trainer for less than a day, and his path was going to be a long one.

Barastyr rushed forward, apparently deciding to go for Ekans tail. Ash grimaced at that. In a normal battle with normal rules, fighting fair was a good thing. When you were fighting someone like a Rocket, it was a good way to die.

If he had a choice, he wouldn't have sent out Oceanius. Not because of his strength, but because of his sheer type disadvantage. With some luck, neither poison type knew any grass type moves, but Ash wasn't holding his breath. He knew that the Rockets would exploit every advantage they had, and nothing was safe. While his Pokémon were fighting like this was a battle, the Rocket's Pokémon would have no such restrictions on them.

Ash watched carefully as his Pokémon followed his directions. Hopefully, he would be able to get between the Rockets and Nurse Joy. To do that, he needed to turn both battles into long ranged fights, something that suited Oceanius just fine, but Barastyr struggled with. He took in everything. Oceanius simply didn't have anything strong enough to do much damage to Koffing, but Barastyr had one move that could get him out of Ekans way, and still cause a slight explosion.

He just hoped it worked. "Barastyr, switch things up, Dark pulse. Oceanius, cover him." He had never asked Barastyr to use the attack, but he hoped that it would help his poor dark type keep Ekans from wrapping and strangling him.

The first thing he noticed was how long it took for Barastyr to charge the attack. Twenty seconds of gathering energy was just too long. Koffing rammed himself into Oceanius while Ekans launched itself at Barastyr. Thankfully, the attack blasted Ekans in the face, knocking it against the wall with a thud.

Ash frowned, the attack should have been a lot stronger, but he put it out of his mind. "Crunch. Oceanius, help him out, Smoke screen." While the other Pokémon would be impaired by their lack of sight, even if it was just slightly, Barastyr would be able to sneak in and hopefully he would be able to do a good amount of damage.

Just as Oceanius was about to blow out the thick smoke, they were no longer alone. A Machoke, Hitmonchan, and Ariados were suddenly helping his team. He glanced to the hallway, relieved to see three new people rushing forward.

The first was a short haired blonde with deep green eyes that were lined with dark bags showing his exhaustion. He was dressed in a plain grey t shirt and black sweatpants. He was about fourteen, or fifteen, but he knew what he was doing.

The second was a girl with long, waist length brown hair, purple mini shorts, and a black tank top. She had light blue eyes that glinted with amusement as she moved to his side with her friends.

Finally, the last boy had shaggy black hair covering one dark brown eye. He was dressed in black checkered pajama pants, and had apparently forgotten to throw on a shirt.

"Lightning Punch." The black haired boy commanded.

"Electroweb." The brunette girl said easily.

"Brick Break." The blonde muttered out sleepily.

Ash watched in amazement as the three Pokémon rushed into the fight, seeming to know what their trainers would want them to do before they said anything. Oceanius and Barastyr backed up, guarding him instead and leaving the fight to the bigger Pokémon. It was impressive to watch the way that the trainers expertly handled their Pokémon.

The other three seemed to relax once their Pokémon moved. The blonde glanced over at Ash. "You okay kid?"

"Fine, thanks for the help."

The other black haired trainer scoffed. "If you knew what you were doing, we wouldn't have to step in."

"Hayden!" The girl elbowed her friend roughly, "be nice. This will only take a few more minutes, then you two can go back to bed. Ari and I can watch them until the police come."

Hayden scoffed. "What? You were thinking the same thing, Kels, if the kid was competent instead of being a pathetic, idiotic, waste of space, we could be sleeping. It's been a long time since we got to sleep in a bed, damn it, and I wanted to enjoy it. Why did you guys drag me out of bed, but Nic gets to sleep?"

"A) it was Nic's Alakazam that teleported us. B) it's only been three days since we were in Saffron. And C) your team was more pathetic than his when we were that young, remember?" The blonde told Hayden.

The girl rolled her eyes, but seemed content with what the other boy had said.

Ash just scoffed. Honestly, he thought he was doing pretty well for someone who hadn't even been a trainer for twenty four hours. He didn't particularly care about what the older trainer said, but apparently, his team did.

Barastyr was growling at the other boy who insulted his trainer while Oceanius glared murderously. They weren't particularly happy about their trainer being insulted.

The older trainers laughed, clearly not scared of Barastyr, before the girl screamed in fear.

Ash felt pain blossom on his back as something sharp slashed through the skin. He bit his lip, feeling himself falling forward as another set of cuts was delivered to his back. Barastyr roared in outrage, jumped up, headbutted the Pokémon that had snuck up behind him, the Meowth.

He fell to his knees, focusing on trying to keep his breathing steady as a battle raged behind him. His body collapsed further, banging his head on the cold tiles underneath him. He looked around, ignoring the horrified looks of the other trainers, and spotted his starter in a rage with Oceanius helping Barastyr tear into Meowth.

Thankfully, all of the other Pokémon seemed occupied, and he was fairly certain neither of his Pokémon would allow anyone near him while they were in danger. Blackness that had been creeping in his vision overtook him. He knew nothing else.

He woke suddenly, with a gush of air leaving his chest as his memory of the previous day slammed into him like a Snorelax using body slam. He looked around, trying to make sense of his mind. White everywhere. He was hooked up to several machines, his back ached like crazy. Luckily, there was a small tank in the room, and Oceanius watched him in distress.

His breathing slowed a bit, as he locked eyes with his Pokémon. He had a Horsea. And a Deino. And a Dratini. He had encountered a Gyarados, saved a Dratini from death, ran away from a fight, that made him grimace, and fought against Team Rocket. What a day.

He sat up slowly, having to pause midway to simply breathe as his back screamed at him for moving. He didn't notice anyone else entering the room until he was forced back to the laying down position and the pain evened out enough for him to pull himself together.

A frowning Nurse Joy was watching him. "You shouldn't move, Mr. Ketchum. That Meowth did a lot of damage to you. You took three fury swipes to the back, as I'm sure you can feel. It's healing, but I'm afraid that even with Ditto cells injected in the area, you're still going to have some pretty bad scars. Humans just aren't meant to take attacks like that. If the Meowth had been a little bit stronger, it would have been enough to kill you. You were very lucky that your Pokémon were keeping such a close eye on you."

He simply nodded, before clearing his throat a bit. She frowned and passed him a glass of water. He downed it, knowing he needed it. "Thanks." He forced out. "How's Dratini? And where's Barastyr?"

"Your Dratini is healing well. Thankfully, when they cut the power a couple of days ago, they only got the main centers power, not the emergency one. I'm guessing that you mean your Deino, by Barastyr. It's just fine, and it's pokeball is on the chair. I don't recommend letting it out, as it was extremely distressed when you passed out."

He frowned, but nodded as she continued. "Anyways, you were asleep the better part of the last three days. You should be able to move by tonight, and tomorrow, I have arranged for a dragon specialist to come in and show you how to help your Dratini shed its skin. You will not be helping, just watching. If the swelling goes down, yes, you will be free to go tomorrow night, just like your Dratini. Alright?"

"I..." he took a deep breath. "I understand that Barastyr seems dangerous, but I promise he won't hurt anyone or anything. He's my starter, and the last time he saw me, I had just been attacked. I know you don't trust him, but i need to make sure he's okay."

Nurse Joy pinned him with a look. He knew he was already on a thin rope with her, as most Nurse Joy's worked exclusively on Pokémon, but he had been bleeding out in her lobby. He also knew that there was something inside every Pokémon center that usually kept Pokémon calm under duress. There was a rumor that each Nurse Joy had an Alakazam hiding around, keeping an eye on the property and subduing Pokémon that were too wild normally.

After a five minute staring contest, she finally sighed in acceptance. "Fine. But you have to stay calm, and still. There are forces here that will step in if you get too rowdy. Please don't make me use them." With that, she walked calmly to the other side of his bed and handed him a pokeball. His fingers closed on the cool metal and he felt a pulse of dark energy go through him.

He didn't even have a chance to press the release button, Barastyr let himself out, carefully whining and sniffing at him. He ignored the nurse watching him and moved his head slightly to butt against his starters. "Hey Bara. Gotta be careful for a little while longer, mkay?" His eyelids were getting heavy, and Barastyr just curled up on the bed next to him, trying not to hurt his trainer.

Ash moved, just a little bit, "Thanks for keeping me safe, Bara." His sleepy eyes moved to where he was being watched by Oceanius. "You both did better than I could have imagined. I'm so proud of both of you."

It felt like minutes later, he was woken up by a harsh growling sound. With a small yawn, he opened his eyes to see Barastyr standing on the bed next to him. A familiar teen had entered his hospital room, and Barastyr wasn't pleased.

With spiked brown hair, a royal purple shirt, and a dark bag slung over his shoulder, Gary Oak had finally arrived.

"Looks like you got yourself in a bit of a pickle, Ashy-boy." Gary teased lightly.

Ash rolled his eyes, soothing Barastyr with continued petting. "Looks like you finally made it." Ash shot back. "You're so slow."

Gary simply shrugged. "Me and Squirtle aren't stupid enough to take on Rocket's. Speaking of." The teasing expression melted off of the youngest Oak's face as a scowl took over. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten killed. You could have gotten everyone killed. If that Koffing had used Self Destruct, what would have happened? This was an enclosed space, idiot. Most dragons are ranged fighters, and even if they weren't, this is a Pokémon hospital! Where were those hours worth of lectures I had to listen to about how Dragon types grow slowly and need to have constant small challenges? Huh? Did you take a leave of absence from your senses, Asher Theodoric Ketchum?"

He couldn't stop the small flinch that moved his body. Yes, he had been stupid. He should have just stayed in the room, called the police, and returned his Pokémon. If he had been found, he should have tried to escape. Barastyr was not ready for a battle like that, even if his opponents were weak. He knew better.

It would take months of work to get Barastyr back to where he had been that night. Luckily, he hadn't done any damage to Oceanius, as the water type was more adaptable at the moment than the dark type.

Yes, his Pokémon had been agitated, but he could have dealt with it in a better way.

Barastyr nudged him again, and he shook himself out of his head. "I'm an idiot." He sighed out, "but you already knew that. Besides, I honestly didn't think that Rocket's were stupid enough to step foot in Giovanni's territory."

Gary shrugged in agreement. The Rockets must have been far dumber than anyone gave them credit for if they thought they would rob a Pokemon Center in Viridian. Other places, especially Pewter, had been targeted before. But Viridian? They must have been dumber than anyone knew.

There was no chance that Giovanni would let the idiots get away undamaged.

Gary flopped down in the visitors chair, exhaustion clear in his dark blue eyes. "Arceus, Route one is a mess right now. Have you heard about the Gyarados that almost maimed a girl? One of her Pokémon is going to have to retire, from what i hear."

Ash felt himself flinch slightly. "I was there when it showed up." He admitted quietly. He had assumed that the girl had at least one Pokémon that was strong enough to fight if she had stayed behind.

Gary peered at him, before nodding. "There was nothing you could do, not in the face of a Gyarados in the middle of an evolution frenzy. Even if all five of us had been there, we would have gotten our asses handed to us."

"Yeah."

The room was silent for a minute. Barastyr was still tense, ready to attack at any second if his trainer needed him to. Oceanius was still incredibly

"It took us the better part of four days to get here. Somehow, the other three got freaked out, and we ended up going through route one together. Lillian- Rose's Bulbasaur is a handful in battle. It already knows stun spore, and sleep powder. She wants to teach him poison powder next. Blake's Solosis is a beast in the making. Stupid thing beat me in all three of our battles, and Brat just wants to squish it now. Vesper is an idiot. He has no idea how to manage Charmander at all. You'd think he would have looked it up, but no, he's too smart to need help." Gary groaned in annoyance. "They thought we would find you in a couple of hours, but I knew you would have been right in the middle of things."

Ash forced out a laugh. "Sounds like you had fun."

Gary just groaned again. He wasn't antisocial, not really, but the other three drove him insane. Blake was a bigger headache than the other two, simply because no one could figure out why he had stuck by Lillian- Rose's side for so long. She treated him like a pack mule, and talked down to him.

Vesper was simply a jerk. That was all there was to it. Having lost in battles was probably good for him, especially if Gary wasn't the only one to stop him down.

"I caught a massive Pidgey, Ash, he's almost a foot and a half tall, and he's 7 pounds, according to Nurse Joy." Gary bragged easily, fingering the pokeballs on his belt happily. "He's gonna be a powerhouse once he evolves. I also have a Weedle that somehow ended up at our camp the third night. He's pretty stupid, but he's mean."

Ash just hummed quietly. "Well, I haven't caught a Pidgey, or anything near as interesting."

Oceanius rammed against the tank, trying to get their attention. Gary's jaw dropped. Ash gave his little Sea dragon an apologetic smile. Everyone knew that Oceanius was far more interesting than a Pidgey, massive or otherwise.

"Is that a Horsea?" Gary asked flatly.

Ash simply hummed in agreement.

"You managed to catch a shiny Pokémon as your second."

"His name is Oceanius, and yeah, he was my first battle. On my first day." Ash knew he sounded smug, but his dreams were already coming together. He already had three Pokémon, two dragons, and one that would become a dragon in time.

Gary opened his mouth a few times to reply, but simply shut it and shook his head. "Only you." He grumbled out, head low in his hands.

Ash felt a smug smirk grow on his face. He hadn't even told Gary about Nephthys yet. Assuming she liked the name, his Dratini would strike fear into the hearts of her opponents when she was ready.

A loud crash from downstairs echoed through the room, and Ash forced himself up as he heard screaming. "Gary."

The brunette nodded and headed out of the room to scout out the problem. While he was doing that, Ash slipped on his jeans and belt, not bothering trying to change into his shirt. His back ached too much for that. He returned Oceanius and Barastyr, ignoring their grumbling about it, and picked up his backpack. He didn't want to carry it, his scars were too fresh, but he had a feeling that he would need it. As soon as it touched his bare back, he grunted in pain, closing his eyes for just a second to get himself under control.

When Gary came back in, not at all surprised to see Ash out of bed, he had a grimace on his face. "There's a Gible freaking out downstairs. I think it belongs to Officer Jenny. It's really, really mad, and keeps ramming itself against the counter or the walls. Think you can get it under control?"

Ash half shrugged, ignoring the racing pain down his back. "Probably. Let's go."

No one in Pallet knew dragon types like he did. Most of his knowledge surprised even Professor Oak. To be fair, the Professor wasn't a specialist, like he was, and studied a broad variety of topics. Ash had a fascination so strong that he and his mother visited the famous Blackthorn City in Johto. He spent two weeks watching what he could and following those who would indulge him.

It was there that he met Claire, a dragon trainer who was just starting with her own Dratini. He guessed that she would probably be around sixteen now, as he had been six at the time. She had shown him how to properly groom the scales of a dragon type. Seeing as they had a far different laying pattern than any other typing, it could be difficult to take care of them properly.

She had also let him help her Dratini, she named him Xander, shed his skin. While Dratini rarely needed the help, it was a good way to bond a new dragon trainer with their Pokémon. He had learned a lot watching her interact with Xander.

One of those things, funny enough, was what happened when a dragon type went on a hunger rampage.

He watched down the hall with an impassive look. It took him all of three seconds to catch onto the fact that the Pokémon was practically starved.

With a massive sigh and a roll of his eyes, Ash walked into the main waiting room of the Pokemon Center. Several couches and benches had fallen to the mighty teeth of the Sand Shark Pokemon.

He put his backpack down against the wall, and pulled out a bowl, catching the attention of the small dragon ground type. He pulled out a bag of dried Pokemon food and poured it into the bowl, completely ignoring the rampage around him, and the chaos as the other humans tried to figure out what to do.

Instead of running at it, the Gible froze. Ash frowned slightly at that. The Gible had most likely been abused, probably with food. Instead of getting angry or freaking out, he pulled out a jar of Yache berries.

He opened it, and rolled a berry towards the Gible. It looked at the berry, going completely silent, before hesitantly picking it up. It waited a few seconds for someone to take the berry away, before devouring it. After it ate, the hesitant look came back. Ash simply rolled another berry, this time with a little more strength, to the Pokémon. It took a few seconds less for it to eat the berry.

He went through the process five more times, before simply placing a few more berries into the dish of Pokémon food. He stepped back a little ways, and waited. Within a minute, the Gible, male if the dorsal fin indentation was any indicator, was chowing down.

He shook his head slightly, an amused smile breaking through his lips, and sat down where he was. The Gible kept glancing over at him, but he didn't really move. He could see Gary watching a few feet away with his hand on a pokeball in case the dragon type started rampaging again.

Unlike the others, Ash knew he was safe. Gible were some of the most relaxed dragons there were, outside of battle anyways. He would be extremely surprised if this one was any different. From the look of it, it was a pretty average Gible, in height at least. It was thinner than the ones he had seen on Television, but as the creature was pretty much all mouth, and it was clearly starving, he wasn't surprised. It had a few lighter blue scars on its back, like someone had whipped its scales, and the horns on the side of its head were covered in dead, rotting skin.

It needed to be groomed, badly. Sadly, Cynthia's love of the species didn't change the fact that most people were terrified that they were going to be bitten if they touched the Gible.

The Pokémon was suppose to be extremely social, laid back, and fairly quiet, a trait that most dragons shared. This one was terrified, hesitant, and starving. He really hoped that Officer Jenny had just gotten it, and hadn't been the one to starve it because she didn't understand his needs.

He tried to ignore the stench coming from around the horns as he watched the Land Shark Pokemon eat, but gave up with a small sigh. He didn't have the supplies on him to completely fix the problem, but he could at least help the creature get its horns back to standard shape.

He dug through his bag and found a pair of rubber gloves, a hard bristled brush, and a container of moisturizer for the skin of Pokémon. He moved to its side and touched one side of the horns with a gloved hand. It froze under his touch, but he gently started massaging the dead skin. With a couple swipes of the brush, the shed skin came off, into a waiting plastic bag. It was easy enough to clean the new skin and keep the driest parts under the thick lotion.

When he finished one side, the Gible simply moved so he could reach the other. It only took about five minutes of care to get rid of the decaying skin. Once he was done, the gloves went into the trash bag, which he easily tied to keep the smell trapped. It took him a few extra seconds to regain his balance once he stood up. He threw the bag to Gary, hiding a wince, and watched as the other boy tossed it into the garbage.

"Most dragons don't like being dirty?" Gary asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, and he's starving. With the dead skin covering his ears, and the fact that he's either been underfed or not fed at all, his rampage makes sense." Ash glanced at the dragon, who was now watching him in curiosity. "Besides, he's going to be paying for that rampage for at least a month. I'm gonna go back to bed."

To his surprise, Gary stole his backpack without a word. Ash rolled his eyes at the protectiveness of his once best friend, but wasn't surprised by it. He covered a yawn with his hand, trying to find his energy once more. He knew that he would be leaving the hospital the next day.

"Wait!" A voice commanded from behind him. Ash turned and met Officer Jenny's red eyes. "How did you know how to do that?"

Ash simply blinked at her. "I like dragon type Pokémon." He answered easily. "They are pretty easy to understand once you learn why they behave certain ways." That was true for all Pokémon of all types. Dragon's were the most, well, honor based besides fighting types. They didn't rampage often, but when they did, there was always destruction left behind. It was lucky that the Gible was so weak, or it could have caused some serious damage. The Land Shark Pokemon was a lower level dragon, and most likely, still very young.

It was just past a baby, and less than a year old, if he had to guess. No Garchomp would feel comfortable letting such a small Gible venture out on its own.

Which meant that it had been stolen.

A small bump against his leg tore him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at the small blue Pokémon with a half smile. "All done then?" He asked lightly. Ash felt his eyebrows shoot up when the Pokémon simply grabbed onto his jeans with one if its small claws. Dragon's didn't behave like that. They were never shy, they never hid from a challenge, and they never backed down.

Having a Gible acting so hesitant made his heart ache. He knelt down beside it, half using Gary to keep his balance, and rubbed right behind one of its horns.

It clung to his arm as soon as it was in reach. He exchanged a look with Gary. The abuse had been worse than he had ever imagined it could have been. For such a proud, laid back species to be so unsure was just wrong.

"I take it you brought him for Giovanni?" Ash said lightly, trying to keep the dragon from feeling his anger. His burning golden eyes met Officer Jenny's crimson ones.

"No actually. Leader Giovanni liberated this little guy from the Rocket's after they attacked a few days ago. He said that it was obviously too wild for anyone to be able to tame, and suggested that Champion Lance come by to take it off my hands. I was trying to heal it up so that it would be healthy when Champion Lance came by this afternoon." Officer Jenny explained quietly, getting a low growl from the Land Shark. Gible did not like Officer Jenny.

"Gible is part ground type too. Giovanni should be able to handle it. I mean, Garchomp are powerful fighters." But if Giovanni had decided that he didn't want to waste his time on the Pokémon, then it would be passed to Lance. From there, maybe an Ace Trainer would get it, if the Champion decided he didn't want to raise such a low leveled Pokémon.

He felt bad for the little dragon. Hopefully, Gible would end up with a trainer that took the time to see its potential and was patient enough to help it reach its full power.

"He doesn't have time to help a subpar fighter. Besides, taming dragons is Champion Lance's thing." Officer Jenny shrugged, clearly repeating what the older Gym Leader had told her. If he wanted to pass on the Pokémon to someone else, then he had full rights to do so.

Ash patted the little Pokémon on the head, noticing its Rough Skin ability, but knowing where it was safe to scratch its scaly skin. "I guess you're right." He admitted with a sigh. His back was practically on fire from the angle he was kneeling, but he kept quiet, knowing that it was more likely than not that the dragon would be discarded by whatever trainer it ended up with. "Wait, did you say that Champion Lance was coming by this afternoon?"

This time, it was Nurse Joy who nodded. "Yes, Mr. Ketchum. He is going to show you how to take care of your Dratini." She folded her hands in front of her for a moment. "He tries to help every trainer who is lucky enough to catch a Dratini, seeing as he's an expert with the species and they require more work than most in order to grow into healthy Pokémon."

That made sense. Of the most powerful types, Dragon, Fairy, Psychic, Dark, and Ground, Kanto only had experts in three. Sabrina was one of the true Psychics, and the one he would challenge for his Marsh badge, while Giovanni was the expert in Ground Type Pokemon. Out of them, Dragon and Dark were the two most challenging types to raise, for very similar reasons. They could be the most vicious and cunning out of any Pokémon. In the case of Dark Pokemon, they had an almost insatiable appetite for blood and violence. Dragons grew slowly, but they grew into titans that were almost impossible to beat. Because of that, only dragons of certain personalities were supposed to be caught. His Barastyr certainly didn't match the personality types that were supposed to be captured.

He knew that his silence was bothering everyone else in the room, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was still beyond exhausted at the moment. Besides, he had weird feelings towards the Champion that he didn't enjoy thinking about. Lance had taken the League by storm, with not one, but three powerful Dragonite, an Aerodactyl, a Gyarados, and a Charizard that made Professor Oak's look like a wimp. The problem was, for a Dragon Type Master, he had very little understanding of how his Pokemon appeared to the general population. They were strong, yes, but they seemed to be strong enough to completely obliterate Kanto if they so choose to. To make things even worse, they might actually be able to.

No one had seen Lance in a corner, about to lose since he had won against the last Champion, Eridian. Worst of all, Lance was born and raised in Johto, not Kanto. He would never hurt his home region, but the other one he ruled over? That one was fair game.

While Ash seriously doubted that Lance would actually hurt anyone, he and his dragons were one of the main reasons that Dragon Types were so feared. As much as he respected what Lance had done, he hated how detached the man had become from his people.

That wasn't to say he wouldn't listen and absorb every word the Champion would say.

Gible gripped his arm tighter, yanking him back to the moment. His eyes met Gary's dark blue eyes. To his surprise, Gary just yanked him up. "Come in, loser. You're still out of it, and you need to go back to bed, Ashy-boy."

He gave Gary a dirty look as Gible still clung to his arm. Forty pounds of dragon was not letting him go any time soon. "I'm fine." He muttered out. "I've got things to do, Gary. You're grandpa might kill me if I don't check in with him soon."

"Mhm, whatever loser. Are you going to be stupid enough to tell me your back doesn't really hurt?"

"You know it does." Ash ground out, temper spiking in a way that only Gary could cause. "But unlike you, I don't need to be in bed all day. I've got plans to change, and people to talk to."

Gary sighed in exasperation. "Do you really want to go trekking through Fuchsia City right now?"

"Not particularly, no. But Barastyr needs some open space to work on his moveset, so does Oceanius. Considering that Dratini won't be able to battle for at least a few weeks, I'm so far behind schedule that I'm not sure how I'm going to catch up." He was tired, exhausted even, and wanted nothing more than to take a nap, but he needed to adjust his plans. It would be days before he had a coherent plan, and he needed to be awake to work it out in his head. Was it even worth going to Kalos? Should he try to simply work with what Kanto had to offer?

Either way, he had no idea where he was going, and that, more than anything else, made him irritable. The Pokemon he caught now, the choices he made now, would follow him for the rest of his life. That was a terrifying thought to him.

He shifted a bit, moving so that he was holding Gible in both his arms instead of letting the Land Shark Pokemon hang from one. He wasn't going to let himself float around uselessly. He had things to do, places to go, and Pokemon to meet.

His eyes burned gold in stubborn determination. Gary nudged him in the side, and he forced it back. He would draw up a plan as soon as he was checked out. Speaking of.

"You said I could be checked out today." Ash reminded Nurse Joy.

She clucked disapprovingly at him. "I said you could leave if you stayed in bed all day, young man. If you go back to bed, I might consider letting you leave in a few hours, once Champion Lance arrives. Maybe."

He nodded in agreement, and tried to set the Gible down. Its small claws bunched up in his hospital gown, clinging tightly. His eyebrows shot up, and he turned to Gary, who simply held his hands up uselessly.

Gary wasn't stupid enough to try and remove the Pokémon from Ash's person. It may have exhausted itself earlier, but its teeth could still cause a lot of damage.

"Wimp." Ash muttered out as he moved closer to Officer Jenny. It was her Pokémon at the moment, after all. The cop simply looked at him, completely unimpressed.

"Tell me, kid, have you always had a way with dragons? Or is this a new thing?" She asked, one hand on her hip.

Gary burst into laughter behind him, and he shot his onetime best friend a glare. "Ash would read stories to grandpa's Dragonite practically every day! He's the only one who could make it purr!"

Ash's glare intensified. "It wasn't my fault King likes me better! Besides, you loved spending time with his Arcanine, and Blazes would shoot an ember whenever I got near it!"

Gary laughed again, but controlled himself after a few moments. "He wants to be a Dragon Master, and eventually, own one of every dragon type Pokémon on the planet, pseudo or not."

Ash felt himself go red. He wished he had his hat to cover his face, but simply looked down. To his surprise, Gible was staring at him in consideration. He was being judged by the Sand Shark for something.

"Do you think you could handle that? Dragons are very..." Officer Jenny trailed off.

Ash rolled his eyes. "My starter is a Deino. My second Pokémon is a Horsea. My third is a Dratini. If I can't handle it, I'm going to have to learn how to pretty quickly."

The door dinged, but Ash ignored it. He would catch a Gible of his own soon enough. Even if this one clearly needed someone who could understand it. He would make his team work. He just had to get to Route 8 in Kalos. Once he got there, everything would get a lot easier, and he would be able to find hopefully two new members of his team, Bagon on the Route, and Axew in the Connecting Cave. Gible and Trapinch would be found around route 13, hopefully he could handle it in the more rugged terrain. If he couldn't find a Pokémon that would work with his team, then he would head forwards to Route 14, where Goomy would be hiding. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was something, seeing as he already had the only dragons available in Kanto.

"Why don't you just take Gible with you?" A man asked casually. He was dressed in red, with fiery red hair and black, assessing eyes. He was simply watching, leaning against the wall as he spoke.

Champion Lance of the Elite Four had arrived.


	4. Chapter 4

_So, quick note to everyone who wants to read this before the chapter begins. I meant to update Chapter three last week, but things were extraordinarily busy in rl. Still, in an apology, I'm going to give you guys a bonus chapter this week. After this, my next update will be next sunday, then two Sunday's from then. Hopefully, I can keep to my schedule. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the next part. Sorry if it's a bit abrupt. Kinda has to be for the later chapters to work._

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The room was silent as Ash and Champion Lance sized each other up like two dragons getting ready to do battle. Ash knew he was way out of his league, but he couldn't back down, even if it meant getting stomped on.

There was a certain similarity that the two had, something that made them identical: their absolute adoration for dragon pokemon. They had the same drive to take one of the more feared species and prove to the world what their might could be if they were shown proper care.

Still, neither of them could back down from each other, if only because they couldn't back down from their pokemon. Dragons demanded loyalty, honor, and truthfulness above everything. They hated weak hearted people, and would purposely go out of their way to possibly destroy them. When someone dealt with them, they had to adapt, and quickly.

Lance had been with his Pokemon for years and knew better than most what would happen if he bowed to his Pokemon rather than the other way around.

Ash had been obsessed with them for years, and had grown up learning how to handle the trickier pokemon. He knew that his alliance with his starter was weak right now, and Barastyr would look for any reason to distance himself from his trainer. There was no way he would jeopardize his relationship with his Pokemon by bowing to anyone, even the current champion and dragon master.

Their eyes dared each otber to back down, not caring how they looked to outsiders. This was a dragon ritual, and Ash had too much on the line to bow his head to the older man. To his surprise, the Champion relaxed his shoulders and laughed. "You're Ash Ketchum, the trainer who started with a Deino, right?"

He blinked. Gary nudged him, making him nod slightly. "I am."

"This is the savage Gible that tried to bite off Giovanni's nose?" He asked, this time to Officer Jenny.

She hid a laugh behind her hand. "Yes sir."

"It's so violent." Lance deadpanned, looking around the now destroyed room with boredom. "However shall we escape it's clutches?"

Gary and Ash exchanged looks. This was the Champion of both Kanto and Johto? How had that happened?

"He was really hungry when we got here." Ash responded calmly, still trying to get the Land Shark Pokemon to let go of him. "A few Yache berries, a bowl of food, and he's back to being a Gible again."

"You've seen the hunger rage?" Lance asked, a pitying look on his face.

Gary stepped closer to Ash. "We grew up around my Grandpa's ranch. We've seen what happens when any Pokémon gets the feeling that lunch is coming too slowly."

True, Ash agreed. While Dragons were usually the worst, they were far from the only type that got cranky when they were hungry. Both Ash and Gary remembered when they were unfortunate enough to get in between a Tyranitar, a Nidoking, and an Aggron when it was time for lunch. The Nidoking belonged to Daisy, Gary's older sister, and spent his time watching over the ranch. The Tyranitar and Aggron belonged to another trainer named Oleander. The fight over who was first made Professor Oak move the Ranch around. One powerful Pokemon per section. No more.

It hadn't been enough to stop all of the spats, but it helped. A lot. He wouldn't mind getting his hands on an Aron, Larvitar, and Nidoran, but he knew that he could do that after he got his main team built up.

"What other Pokémon do you have again, Kid?"

His eyes narrowed at Officer Jenny as he understood the question. She wanted to prove to Lance that he would be the best trainer to handle the little devil that Gible could become. He let out a small sigh. "I only have Horsea and Dratini at the moment." It felt weird calling Oceanius Horsea, and he really needed to work on a name for his Dratini. Something elegant, deadly, and all hers. Maybe Hella or Nephthys. Something similar would work with the power she would have.

Lance let out a low whistle. "A Hydreigon, a Kingdra, and a Dragonite. It would be a powerhouse lineup. Especially if you added in a Garchomp. Assuming of course, you can train them right."

"I don't know what I can do yet. I haven't even had Barastyr for a week yet." He reminded them. Right now, even Gary's team could squish his, but they had limits far lower than his team. Ash couldn't put up a fight. Yet. But his team would grow, and so would their power. By the time the league came along, he would hopefully be able to place in the Top 16.

Within the next four, his team would be able to place in the top eight, hopefully. Maybe. That day was far away from now.

"You want me to raise Gible?" He asked, keeping his face impassive as his heart raced.

Lance cocked an eyebrow at him. "I could give him to an Ace Trainer if you don't want him." Ash stayed silent, making Lance laugh again. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now, do you really need someone to show you how to help your Dratini shed, or do you already know?"

Ash glanced at Gible, who seemed quite comfortable in his arms. "It's been a few years since I've seen a Dratini. Maybe I could help her, and you could make sure I don't accidentally hurt her?" That was the best compromise he could come up with.

Lance cocked his eyebrow again. "Fine. If you show me your Pokémon first."

Ash had a feeling he knew why the Champion wanted to see his team. The older man would want to make sure he had his team under control. A shedding Dratini was very sensitive and could be seriously injured if it was hurt while its scales were still hardening. Still, his team wasn't strong enough, besides maybe Oceanius, to do any damage to the Dratini. "After she sheds, I'll introduce you to my team." He countered calmly.

Lance just looked at him, before giving a long sigh. "Fine. You know how delicate a freshly shed Dratini's scales are, right?"

Ash bit back the snarky comment and simply nodded. It was half insulting that Lance had asked him that, as if he was an idiot. But, as Lance was one of the few trainers who could take a dragon type to its full potential, he kept his face blank. He really did want to make sure his little one was alright.

Something came flying at his head, and he shifted Gible into one arm to catch it. For some reason, Barastyr seemed to think he was under attack and released himself, snarling viciously at the other trainers. The pokeball that had flown towards his head was used to quickly return the Gible. There was no way he was introducing the two dragons inside. Not a chance.

Once his arms were empty again, he scooped up the snarling dark type. Barastyr hissed at him, but he ignored it. "Would you calm down? It was a joke, I promise. I'm not in any danger. No one here is stupid enough to try to hurt me." He muttered, shifting his hold on the dark type so that he could rub his chin on Barastyr's head.

While still clearly not happy, the dark type just relaxed a bit in his grip. He looked at his starter and sighed. Even if he tried to return Barastyr, the dark type would still release himself. He was stubborn, as all dragon types were, and wanted to get his way all the time.

"Come on, let's go see Dratini, Bara. The sooner she sheds, the sooner we can get out of here." He muttered quietly. His Pokémon did not like being cooped up, and they wanted to be away from all of the people who were annoying them.

Gary followed behind at a distance, keeping his wary eyes on the dark type. As soon as they reached Dratini's room, he sat the bag down by the door. The two boys gave each other a silent goodbye, knowing that Ash had to do the rest of this on his own.

His eyes stared at the door, making Bara grumble, annoyed with his trainers behavior. He looked down at his starter for a moment, before stepping closer so that the door opened for him.

The Dratini whined quietly at the intrusion, before settling quickly. She was uncomfortable, and her scales were bulging in places where the old skin had split. She wiggled around on her bed, before whining again.

Barastyr jumped from his arms and landed beside his female teammates, giving her a soothing growl. She moved to butt her head against his side gently, and cooed again. Ash couldn't stop the smile on his face as Dratini tried to use Barastyr's fur to shed her skin.

"Calm down, little one. I'm going to help you get out of that skin, alright?" It would take the better part of an hour, he guessed, to get her completely out of her old skin. In the wild, Dratini rubbed up against rocks or other rough surfaces to start the process. It was fairly common for Dratini to have scars from their attempts to shed their skin. His little one had a few, but none that were really noticeable.

He started at her nose, rubbing the dry skin lightly with his fingers to get a feel for how bad it was. With a wince, he realized that he would need a few tools. Ash went back to his backpack and pulled out an empty bag, the moisturizer that he used earlier, and a small, semi rough brush that he could use to help loosen the dead scales from the fresh ones.

It was a long job, but he stayed gentle, muttering to the skittish dragon whenever she started to get irritated. Thankfully, she seemed to like Barastyr, and he liked her as well. By the time he reached her tail, the stitched up places had been partially shed, leaving only scar tissue behind.

Nephthys cooed happily when he finally put the brush away, and wiggled happily against her new friend. Barastyr seemed to enjoy the attention, and soaked it up. Ash was a little surprised at how calmly Barastyr was taking the other dragon's presence, but he wasn't going to do anything to ruin it. Nephthys proved that she was more content with her new trainer, and Lance had simply kept a keen eye on him from the open doorway. It was funny, in a sad way, how mistrustful Lance was of Barastyr.

He put it out of his mind when the Dragon Champion simply left without a word to him. That didn't stop his eyes from lighting up when Nurse Joy finally gave him the go ahead to get dressed. As she promised, as soon as he was ready to go, she handed him a pokeball. He had to promise three more times to be extremely careful with her, before he bid her goodbye. With all four of his Pokémon on his belt, he was finally ready.

He had done some careful thinking while helping Nephthys shed, and now had a very basic idea of what he was going to do from here. It wasn't much, but he would stay in the area for a few more days. Seeing as neither Nephthys or Gible could battle today, he would stick with Oceanius and Barastyr as his fighters. Tomorrow, Gible would be able to join in, but it would be a while before Nephthys could battle. She could, however, work on her attacks to make sure that she could use them to the best of her abilities. Starting tomorrow, that would be her routine for at least two more weeks.

The sun warmed his skin the moment he reached the door, and he could practically hear his Pokémon begging to come out and bask in the sunlight.

That was not to be, as the moment he stepped outside, he was bombarded by the Champion. Lance was waiting, with one of his Dragonite, for him to exit the center. He had promised to introduce the man to his Pokémon after all.

Both the massive dragon and the Dragon Master had their arms crossed in impatience. They moved as one, making it clear that this had been his first partner, his starter, all those years prior. Ash bit back a groan. Having the larger dragon around would not help his relationship with his Pokémon. He really would rather introduce his third and fourth Pokémon to his team in private, but there was no way it was happening.

"Didn't think you could leave without keeping your promise, did you?" Lance asked, voice smooth and deceptively calm.

Ash had to fight to keep himself from rolling his eyes. The Champion really needed to relax a bit. Then again, so did he. "I asked Nurse Joy where you were."

That made both Lance and his Dragonite lose their intimidating postures. Clearly, neither of them had ever thought that he could simply ask where he has gone.

Ash simply ignored their complete surprise, and barreled on. "Seeing as you already know Dratini, I'm guessing she can be excluded for the moment? Good. So, as I said earlier, I have a Deino, a Horsea, and now Gible. The Deino is Barastyr, the Horsea is Oceanius, and Dratini is Nephthys. I haven't come up with a name for Gible yet, assuming he wants one. Barastyr is my starter, then we caught Oceanius a few hours into our journey. He's technically, the only one I battled and caught. Nephthys was rescued from a Gyarados, and you saw how I got Gible." He stopped for a moment and brushed his hair to the side from where it had fallen over his eye. He really didn't want to do this, not while his control over his Pokémon was still shaky, but he knew that he didn't have a choice.

Lance gave him a considering look. "I would like to meet all of them, and see how they interact with each other. I know you haven't had a chance to introduce Gible to your team yet, but you have to know that doing so without supervision is dangerous."

He glanced around them, noticing all of the buildings and people around that had stopped and were staring. This wasn't a safe place for his team. If someone got angry, there were too many people who could be hurt. Instead, he headed to the training field on the side of the Pokémon center. If it was deserted, then he would use the field. If not, Lance would have to put up with a bit of a walk.

"I was planning on introducing Gible as soon as we had some privacy. I trust my team to not put up that big of a fight. Besides, Gible usually pack together, and so do Deino, so hopefully, the two of them can at least start to get along."

Honestly, he wasn't sure how well his team would get along with each other. Barastyr and Nephthys seemed to like each other alright, but Barastyr and Oceanius were cold to each other at best. He didn't want to know how the clingy Gible would fit into the dynamics of the group.

"You never know until you try." The dragon master told him calmly, walking ahead of him with his lumbering Dragonite at his back. Clearly, Lance had an idea, and expected to be followed.

Ash bristled slightly at the tone, but shoved the feeling down. This man was one of the most dangerous trainers in the world. He couldn't afford to make an enemy out of him. Besides, Lance could have insisted on having Ash release his Pokémon in the middle of the street, instead of wherever they were going.

It turned out that Lance apparently knew where a large, rocky training field was. It was slightly West from Viridian, but not easy to find for anyone. It most certainly wasn't anywhere near Victory Road, thankfully. He could admit that he was impressed by the sheer size of the field. Only fifteen minutes out of Viridian, this place was a trainers paradise.

Lance stopped outside the field and raised an eyebrow again, with Dragonite tensing its muscles, ready for a fight.

Ash reached for one of the pokeballs, starting off with the most skittish of his Pokémon, Nephthys. He easily released her, before reattaching her pokeball to his belt.

As soon as the light dimmed, she looked around, completely confused as to why she had been called on. She spotted her trainer with a happy trill, and slithered contentedly towards him. Ash knelt down next to her, checking the scars with a careful, steady hand. She pushed her nose into his hand and trilled again. He gave her a small smile, before turning his attention to the stranger on the outskirts of the field. She drew back when she recognized the beast next to the intruder as a Dragonite.

"It's alright, Nephthys. You're alright." Her trainer soothed quietly, "He just wanted to say hello, little one."

She shook her head and backed further away from the strange human. She didn't like him. She whined in distress, getting a soft look from her trainer, who sighed, but returned her.

As soon as she was carefully tucked away again, he looked up at Lance, waiting for his judgment.

"She's beautiful." Lance started, "but she needs confidence to evolve. Being a shiny, she was probably cast out of her nest younger than she should have been. All Dratini are timid, but she takes it to an extreme. That said, her smaller size could help her become faster than most of her opponents. I would recommend a speed based attack pattern for her, verses a power based one." He said carefully, trying not to insult the small dragon. Seeing as he had three Dragonite, he knew just how difficult they could be. His starter was more brash than the other two, his second was more of a thinker, and far more lazy. The third and final was more soft and delicate, but she had a serious case of bloodlust when in battle. They had different fighting styles, if only because they were drastically different Pokémon.

Lance gestured for him to release his next one, and he did, letting Gible come out and give a large yawn, showing off his sharp teeth. Gible turned to the larger dragon and growled angrily. He didn't like having such a powerful beast around his new trainer. While he was growling, Gible grabbed onto Ash's trench coat with one clawed hand. The smaller Pokémon may have been scared, but he was brave in the face of possible danger.

Ash just reached down and scratched his new Pokémon behind the horns. While territorial, dragons knew better than to attack someone clearly far more powerful than themselves. Lance threw his head back in laughter, finally relaxing slightly.

"He's going to be trouble when he evolves." Lance told him, voice drenched in humor.

Ash shrugged slightly and returned the Land Shark Pokémon.

Next up was Oceanius, who was just bored. His crimson eyes gleamed for a moment in interest, but he just blew a weak bubble beam towards them when Lance stepped closer. The dragon master seemed interested in the strange, shiny patterns of the Horsea, but Oceanius wasn't having it. Finally, after trumpeting quietly, Oceanius got recalled. Unless they were battling, he didn't care for other humans gawking at him.

"He's the best fighter?"

Ash shrugged. At the moment, yes. Oceanius didn't have the same restraints that his other Pokémon did, as he wouldn't gain his dragon typing until he became a Kingdra. When that happened, his progress would steady itself out with his other dragons. Still, it would be months before Oceanius was ready to evolve into a Seadra, and even longer until he was ready to become a Kingdra.

Last but not least, he let Barastyr have his turn. The dark dragon turned towards Ash with a grumble. Ash had to fight back laughter as he realized what his Deino was asking. Barastyr wanted to know if he was supposed to attack Lance's Dragonite. He would have lost badly, if that was the case but Barastyr would have happily done it.

"Sorry, Barastyr. Someone wanted to meet you. Can you say hello to Lance and his Dragonite?"

Bara tipped his head slightly to the side, as if asking if his trainer was an idiot, before snorting, going over to a big rock, and curling up for a nap in the sun.

Ash shook his head, knowing his starter would be lazy until recalled again. He found it interesting that none of his Pokémon were drawn to Lance, or had any interest in him at all. Well, except for Oceanius, but that was only his want to battle that made him curious. Gible tried to defend him, Nephthys wanted to hide, Oceanius was bored, and Barastyr decided to take a nap.

This was a great opportunity for his Pokémon, and none of them wanted to take it. To be fair, they were most likely intimidated by the giant Dragonite watching from the sidelines, but none of them let it affect them.

He still wanted to do some training with his Pokémon. He still needed to see just how far he could push them until they managed to get stronger.

He ignored Lance and his sputtering as he recalled his first Pokémon.

Thankfully, that was all of them, and he could move on with his day. He hated having someone judge his Pokémon when he didn't even know their strengths yet. It was awkward and strange, even if the older man could see a dragon's potential better than he or anyone he knew. Still, he was protective over his little team.

Ash felt Lance's eyes on him, and he ducked his head. It was hard to tell how far a Pokémon could go until they grew a little bit. Dratini was probably the oldest of his team, and she wasn't more than maybe a year old.

He knew that his faith in his team would help them become the fearsome titans he knew they could be. But, for now, a trainer battle, even with a weak opponent, would be too much for Oceanius and Barastyr.

"You've got a lot of work ahead of you." Lance commented slowly. "Your starter is a mess, lazy and unresponsive to basic commands. Gible is going to get itself beaten to the point that it won't be able to battle if it keeps trying to fight stronger opponents. Your Horsea has an attitude problem, one that you need to solve before it can evolve. And your Dratini... I'm not sure how well it would do in battles. Frankly, the chance that your team will actually get anywhere useful is practically nothing."

Ash felt his blood burn. That wasn't anywhere near an accurate assessment of his team. He knew that the other trainer was a master, but Lance didn't have any idea about his pokemon. How could he? Ash had only had all of them for a few days, and he hadn't even been conscious for most of it. He opened his mouth to reply, but Lance cut him off.

"Because of your team, I have no doubt that Dratini will be fine. She is just as weak as the others, but she could get away from them before they could hurt her. Gible will have no problem intimidating the rest of your team, so he should be fine as well." And with that, the Champion of Kanto walked off, waving lazily over his shoulder.

Ash forced himself to walk in the opposite direction. He needed to calm down a bit before he went back to the Center. He couldn't believe how rude Lance was. That man had been someone he looked up to, and yet he had completely disregarded his team. The only one he had semi-useful advice for was Nephthys. Her speed and size could be an advantage, or a bad disadvantage until she was stronger.

Ash knew that at least half the anger he felt was frustration due to being stuck in the Pokemon Center for so long. He was still such a new trainer, and things were happening too quickly for him to process. At the same time, he knew that he now had a responsibility to make sure his team surpassed Lance's. Or at least, surpassed where Lance thought their limits were. He knew how to do this, but it would take time. Time that everyone else would use to leave him in the dust.

Eventually, his team would surpass Gary's, or any of the other Pallet trainers, but that day was still far away. Gary would probably be at his sixth or seventh badge by the time he went for his first. He was being left behind, because of his own choices, and he knew that he would have to fight three times as hard as anyone else to get where he was going.

This was the path his journey would take. This was where he wanted to go. And yet, he was overwhelmed by just how much had happened, and just how far he had to go.

He should have let out one of his Pokémon, to prove to himself that he wasn't alone, but he still didn't know his team, and was unsure how to handle them. He knew most trainers had a Pokémon that they kept out of their pokeballs to keep them company in the wilderness. It was a good way to make sure that the homesickness didn't get overwhelming.

That didn't mean he would let any of them out right now, not when he felt defeated before he had really tried. He had to be confident before his team would have confidence in him. When he felt like this, his natural reaction was to hide away. He needed to have the space to think things through, but not to the point where he got stuck in his head.

He couldn't let his Pokémon see him when his mind was such a mess. He sat down next to a tree, legs up to his chest as his mind raced. How was he going to get his full team? How was he going to handle six Pokémon when he wasn't sure how to handle four? Would he be able to hold onto his dream, even if it took years and years to get where he wanted to go?

For that matter, where did he want to go? Sure, he wanted to compete in the League, but after that? Did he want to keep traveling? Settle down? Become a recluse that hid in the mountains? Explore the legends of the land?

What kind of life did he want for himself?

He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. He had no idea, no long term goals to reach towards yet. Then again, journeys were about discovering yourself, and finding adventures and companions that would be with you for your entire life. He hoped that his would be a journey worth taking, but other than that, he didn't know.

His head thunked back against the trunk of the tree, and let his eyes close. He knew it was stupid to fall asleep in an unprotected area, without at least a Pokémon to keep an ear out. His brain knew it, but his body still rested, falling into a troubled sleep. For now.

When he woke up, he would be over his doubts and his uncertainty. Hopefully. If not, he would just fake it until it was true.


	5. Chapter 5

(Hey guys,for those here early , I had the wrong chapter up. I reposted chapter 3 accidentally. Its been fixed. Sorry again. Dd)

He wandered through the forest, trying to get deep enough into the dark woods that his Pokémon wouldn't be stumbled on by anyone else. He was tired from everything that had happened today, and he was nowhere near where he wanted to be by the end of the day. He still had to introduce Gible and Nephthys to the other two.

Every part of him hoped that they would get along, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. Oceanius and Barastyr seemed to have a reluctant truce more than an actual friendship. Frankly, his head was still reeling that Nephthys and Barastyr got along.

He walked for less than twenty minutes, before stopping and letting out a long sigh. Ash sat down on the grassy ground, unsurprised when Barastyr came out to cuddle at his side. He scratched the dark types head, getting his attention. It was time they had a talk, one that he should have done on their first day, but, well, he hadn't had time.

"You're my starter, Bara. You need to set an example for every other Pokémon I'm going to get. I know I've been hurt for pretty much the whole time we've been together, and we haven't really had the time to bond together like a normal starter can. We've got three other Pokémon in our care now, Bara." He muttered out, stroking his Dark types head.

"I'm honestly not sure what all Gible went through before we got him. I don't know if Nephthys will ever be able to battle in the way she wants to. I don't know if Oceanius will be happy being the strongest for a while, because he will grow faster than you. My whole adventure so far has been one mess after another, hasn't it?" He sighed again, looking around the forest as he spoke. This was as honest as he could be. He wished he had more time with just the two of them, but it hadn't turned out that way.

Gary was probably at the Viridian Forest by now, battling bug after bug. His Pidgey was probably very happy with it. Lillian- Rose, Blake, and Vesper were all probably either out of the forest, or nearly there. The trainers he had started with were already leaving him behind, and he hadn't even been a trainer for a week.

He didn't really know his starter, or any of his Pokémon really. He didn't know if they liked to battle, if Gible or Nephthys ever could battle. He didn't know why Oceanius was always so angry, or why Barastyr couldn't stand the Horsea. He didn't understand his team, and all he was doing was proving to himself that he wasn't a good trainer.

He laid back, using his hat to shield his face as he spoke. "I know that everyone left us behind. I know that we gained a lot of Pokémon really quickly. I know that we haven't been able to actually do a training session yet. It's frustrating that we're still here, but Barastyr, we need a little bit more time to grow before we can beat anyone. I promise that one day, you and I will stand on the other side of a battle with Gary, and everyone else that left us behind. We will stomp them down, eventually. Until then, we need to take things day by day, fight by fight. I need you to lead the other's, and I need you to stick with me until we get where we want to go."

It was so strange for him to talk. He had always spent the majority of his time either listening or in his own head. He had been practically alone for years. After his dad died when he was six, his mom had passed over most of the duties regarding him to either Mimey or Professor Oak. He didn't really remember his father, only that he had eyes like black fire and hair that was slicked back and the same color as his own.

His dad wasn't nice, but he did sit with Ash after getting in fights with his mom. He remembered that his dad read him books on complex Pokémon information. He was really serious, and didn't smile often, but he did remember getting a smile from him when Ash had been accepted to Oak's trainer school.

That was it though. After his father died, his mom burned all of the pictures that included the man, got rid of all of his clothing, and removed any traces that Ash even had a father. It was hard for him, but he had learned within a few weeks never to mention his father any more.

He shook himself a bit. "Look, I really want us to get some training done today, after I introduce you to your new teammate. Gible is going to be sitting out today because he went into a rage, stupidly, earlier and he needs the rest of the day to get back to his normal levels. It's just going to be you, and maybe Oceanius if he feels up to it. Tomorrow, he will be able to join you, and we'll do an assessment on what he needs to work on. I'm counting on you to break up any fights and to lead the others on how this is going to go. We get one week here, so let's do our best, okay?"

Ash laid back, curling up slightly in mental exhaustion. There was so much to do. He stayed there for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath, sitting up, and releasing Oceanius, Nephthys, and Gible.

Oceanius formed first, giving Barastyr his usual dismissive look as he took in the situation. Gible, on the other hand, just ran to his side to cling to his shirt again. The urge to roll his eyes was strong, but not impossible to ignore. Nephthys was just happy to be out of her pokeball, trilling a happy hello at Barastyr as she wiggled on the ground.

"Hey, Oceanius. Did you have a good rest?" He asked quietly as the water type started sizing up his two new Pokémon. It made Ash laugh a little. Oceanius was just as clingy as both Barastyr and Gible were. Oceanius was also a lot easier to hold, seeing as he only weighed about eighteen pounds, meaning he was likely to get his way more often than the other two..

He poked Gible in the side lightly, trying to get the Land Shark Pokemon to interact with the other three. "Come on, Gible, say hello to your teammates." He tried. One black eye peeked over at the other two shyly. Gible raised one claw, still gripping Ash's shirt, in greeting.

Barastyr grumbled in annoyance at the other blue Pokémon, ducking his head to rest on Ash's lap. He didn't want to deal with the other Pokémon, but he also didn't want to cause his trainer a fuss. He would put up with his new team members, because he was Ash's starter, and the leader of the pack.

Oceanius just trumpeted in dismissal. The other Pokémon wasn't even worth his time yet. The Horsea would wait to cast judgment until he had seen the other Pokémon in battle. As little as Oceanius and Barastyr cared about each other, they could work together to save their trainer. The seahorse wasn't sure if their newest teammate would be able to fight off anything. Plus, he was clinging to Ash, who was supposed to be holding Oceanius above the rest. It was only the trainers presence that kept him from shooting a Bubble Beam at the ground type.

Nephthys seemed to ignore the others, as she was his most blissfully content on her own out of his Pokémon. He could try to hold her the way he did the others, but she was too large, even if she was the lightest out of all of them. She wanted a pack, a nest of safety, and his other Pokémon could give it to her.

Ash tried not to groan. His Pokémon respected power and drive, neither of which Gible was showing at the moment. They were starting to get cocky, Oceanius more so than Barastyr. In time, they would see just how weak they were, and how strong they could become.

He pet Gible one more time, before getting free from the Land Shark Pokemon. He stood up and backed away a little bit. He needed to see just what the other two could do. Gible sitting on the sideline wouldn't endear him to his teammates, but they would sit by tomorrow as he did the same thing, possibly with Nephthys joining Gible, if she was feeling up to it.

"Alright, guys. We're going to test where both of you are with all of your attacks. Then, we're going to work on making one attack better until sunset. Tomorrow morning, we're heading into Viridian Forest, and we're going to fight our way through. I'm canceling the Alakazam, and I bought our tickets from Cerulean City to Cyllage Town. There's a few places nearby that have some interesting Dragon Pokémon, and we're going to add our last two team members there." It wasn't much, as far as a plan was concerned, but it was something.

At least Oceanius looked interested, though it probably had less to do with walking to Cerulean and more to do with the boat ride to Kalos. The Pokémon near Cyllage town weren't extremely powerful, but where they were, experience wise, they wouldn't be able to catch any Pokémon unless it took pity on them. He had a month to get Oceanius, more than the other three, up to form.

If he worked with the other three, Gible would be around Barastyr's level, while Nephthys would be pretty far behind the rest. To be fair to her, she still had another two and a half weeks before she could start battling.

His eyes peered around, looking for a good target. Neither Nius or Bara were strong enough to destroy a tree at the moment, so that was what they would work on. "Oceanius, I want you to send your strongest Water Gun at a tree. Barastyr, you supposedly know Dragon Pulse, so let's see it."

They worked for the better part of six hours, even after the sun went down, until the Barastyr finally collapsed in exhaustion. Oceanius had fallen almost thirty minutes prior, making him frown. The Horsea should have had better stamina than a Deino, but apparently not.

Luckily, there were noticeable differences in the strength of the two moves. Dragon Pulse was still more tricky for Barastyr to form, aim, and use. But he had cut down on the time it took to form the attack from almost five minutes to just under a minute. Oceanius needed to work on his accuracy and power as well. The formation of the attack was sloppy, but it had gotten better as time went on.

All and all, Silvanus, his Gible, was glad to have the day off. Nephthys, sadly, had made him more concerned about her will to battle, or lack thereof. She simply napped for most of the day, not paying attention to the training at all. Part of it, he knew, was because she had just gotten out of the Pokémon center. He would just have to wait and see how much of the lethargy would wear off on its own, and how much was her. Ash hoped that she would be able to find her inner dragon battle pride, but it would take some time, especially after how vicious her last battle had been.

Ash returned the other three, leaving Silvanus out to scare away wild Pokémon, and headed back to the Center. They would have plenty of time to sleep in a camp, and he wanted Nephthys to be close to the center while she was still so delicate.

Instead of carrying the Land Shark Pokemon, he opted to let Silvanus walk. It wasn't a long walk, but it was late by the time he got back to his rented room. He would have Nurse Joy check on Bara and Nius in the morning, after a good night's sleep.

He carefully closed the door behind him and released the sea horse into the tank across the room, before letting both Bara and Silvanus crawl into bed with him. Nephthys looked at the bed, tempted, but she decided to sleep in the tank with Oceanius. Thankfully, it took up the majority of the room on one wall, so it was more than large enough for the dragon and water types to have their own spaces.

A grumbling noise woke him up in the middle of the night. Ash wanted to groan, but he stayed quiet as he sat up. Bara was staring at the edge of his bed, but the Deino was staying completely still. It almost seemed like his poor starter had no idea how to react.

Ash blinked, feeling slightly more awake as he took in the rest of the room. Oceanius seemed like he was ignoring everything, but he could see the sliver of red showing that the Horsea was paying attention. Nephthys slept on, not rousing at all. Ash wasn't sure if it was just because she was a heavy sleeper, or if she was still exhausted from her stay in the Pokemon Center.

At the far edge of his bed, looking like he was about to fall off, was Silvanus. The Gible tossed and turned violently, grumbling and growling in his sleep as he tried to escape his dreams.

Ash felt his heart break for his pokemon. The Pokemon was having a nightmare, and he wasn't sure what to do. His first instinct was to wake up the sleeping dragon by stroking his scales, but Silvanus could lash out in his sleep and severely hurt him. He wasn't sure how his pokemon would react after a nightmare, if he would want to be held, soothed, hidden, or just left alone.

He looked helplessly at his starter, who seemed just as lost as he felt. He hated doing nothing, though and leaned forward, tucking his feet under himself and getting closer, but staying far enough away that he wouldn't crowd the pokemon.

Ash took a breath, before he softly started calling Silvanus' name. He didn't want to touch the pokemon unless he was sure that neither of them would be hurt.

It took a few minutes for Silvanus to snuffle out of the nightmare realm of Darkrai, but once he did, his black eyes filled with tears. Ash watched as the Pokemon didn't wail, or scream, or bawl, but simply let the tears drip down his face silently. His heart broke for the little dragon.

Ash carefully opened his arms, just enough that Silvanus could choose if he wanted the affection or not, and waited, muttering whatever soothing thing he could think to say. Silvanus barely gave him enough time to steady himself before the small dragon was clinging tightly to Ash's chest, getting his nightshirt wet with tears as his trainer worked to sooth the blue and red pokemon.

Barastyr jumped down, settling on the rug by the bed instead. While he wasn't particularly happy with having to share his trainer, he knew that for this, Ash would have to help the other dragon himself. It seemed cold, but he had a hard time trying to hold back the urge to bite or ram into his teammates. His trainer had specifically said that they were a team now. Barastyr would deal with the fights that needed to be fought. Ash could have the emotional things.

He curled up content that his trainer could handle things without him, and laid down. He kept an ear open incase he was needed, but this would be something Ash would deal with. Not him.

Meanwhile, Ash was at a loss. He wasn't an emotional person, but he couldn't just leave Silvanus to suffer by himself. He stroked the ground types scales and hushed him, keeping his voice as calm as he could. It wasn't easy to keep the rage out of his voice, especially towards the Rockets who had hurt his newest Pokemon.

He knew dragons better than most, but he had no idea how to help a dragon that had been abused as violently as Silvanus.

There was no good way to deal with an abused Pokemon. He was at a loss when it came to the dragon ground type. Still, he soothed whatever fear he could.

It wasn't ideal, but there wasn't much else he could do. He laid back down, pulling Silvanus with him and just let the Pokemon curl himself up on Ash's chest.

Not much more time passed before both Pokemon and trainer were fast asleep again. Barastyr waited patiently for their breathing to fall back into a restful pattern, before getting up and patrolling the room.

A small noise caught his attention. Instead of making him go wild, like he had last time, it made him relax. Oceanius was also awake, and together they would keep an eye on their boy, while protecting both him and their new team. Neither pokemon was particularly pleased that they were paired together, but they could rely on each other to take care of their team.

Barastyr yawned silently and nodded towards the noise. Even though he couldn't see, he understood the noise for what it was. Neither of them would need to stay awake to protect the room. Instead, they would both doze to ensure the safety of the rest of their pokemon.

From her corner of the tank, Nephthys peeked her eyes open, simply watching the rest of them. The boy and the weakling had settled back into bed, while the protectors would keep the room safe. As a pokemon fresh from the wild, she, more than any of the rest, understood the need to keep one self aware.

That didn't mean she would trust her safety to the others, but if they wanted to stay up all might, Nephthys had no reason to protest.

There were no other disturbances that night, thankfully. Ash woke to a hungry Bara playfully nibbling on his hand instead of Silvanus having another nightmare. He groaned in annoyance, but got up anyways, picking up the landshark pokemon from his chest and placing him beside him on the bed.

It was still early, only seven or so according to the clock on the table next to him. Sadly, Barastyr required a large breakfast after the amount of work he had done the previous day. He had no doubt that the others were hungry as well, even if they were more interested in sleeping.

He poured some food into the tank first, getting a sleepy grumble as Oceanius opened one eye long enough to scarf down the food before returning to sleep. Nephthys slowly went after her portion, still sleepy as well. Next, he filled two bowls, one with a decent amount of food for Silvanus, and the other practically overflowing for Barastyr.

To no one's surprise, Bara was done long before Ash had even finished getting his shoes on. Because of the workout Ash had planned for the three of them, he refilled Bara's bowl and let the dark dragon have a second helping.

He doubted they would get very far into Viridian Forest before he decided to stop and get some training in. He would probably only walk for two hours, maybe three, before finding a place to work.

He wanted to see just how far Oceanius's control could be pushed before he had to rebuild his attack. Barastyr needed to be able to gather the Draconic energy faster, and not waste as much of it as he currently was. He double checked his medicinal pocket in his bag, just in case he needed to buy something else. He had thirty potions, twelve super potions, and twenty revives. He had a dozen paralyze heals, antidotes, burn heals, and a stupid amount of berries in stasis. He was suddenly really glad that the Professor insisted on giving them so many extra medical supplies.

He only had eight bags of dry pokèfood left, and six bags of wet food. While that would easily last him for the four or five days he would spend in the forest, he knew that he would buy another three bags of each from the poke mart before he left Viridian.

As soon as he was stocked up and ready to go, he headed north, towards the Viridian Forest. This was the first test that any trainer had to go through. Most of the Pokémon there were bug or poison types, but that didn't mean they weren't a danger at this point. One day, his Pokémon would be able to shrug off bug types, but that day was far away for now.

That did, however, mean that Oceanius would be one of his least effective fighters against Pokémon like this. He would have to be careful to overcome the weakness, and fast, if they wanted to make it through without having to be rescued. Or dead.

The bugs, especially the Beedrill, were extremely toxic to younger Pokémon, while being deadly to humans if enough of it was injected. Most of the Pallet Town trainers with the typical three would be fine. Those with Squirtle would struggle more than the other two, while those with Charmander would breeze their way through the forest. There were dozens of trainers waiting in the woods for a newbie to come by, and Ash knew he would be losing a lot.

Nephthys was nowhere near ready to fight. Silvanus could, he supposed, but he didn't want to use the dragon ground type unless he had to. Barastyr would fight, not very much as he had to make sure that the fights weren't going to be enough to provoke him into a rage. Oceanius would hate fighting Pokémon like this, but would love to take them down.

All and all, this would be a fitting first test for him. He hesitated at the edge of the city, knowing that it would be a better idea for him to stay here for a little while longer. But, this was meant to be a challenge. If he never battled anyone stronger than himself, then how could he get stronger?

He took a deep, steady breath, and headed inside the canopy of trees towards Pewter City. After a few minutes of silence, he released Barastyr, knowing that he had to form a relationship with his starter if they were going to get anywhere.

It was strange having the little dark type by his side, occasionally biting at leaves and grass in his way. He hid a laugh. Oh yes, his starter was vicious.

He had too many Pokémon right now, but it was important for his connection to be the strongest with his starter. He wondered how Barastyr viewed him. He was a bit of an idiot. As hard as he worked to get rid of that trait, he wasn't able to. He would always have the impulse to just jump into battle and deal with whatever consequences came from the choice later.

He wasn't like the other kids his age either. He was more of a loner. It was especially challenging for him to try and get used to another life constantly in his hands. He spent a lot of time at Oak's Ranch, just observing the Pokémon that other trainers owned. That was another thing about him. Most trainers caught anywhere between ten and fifty Pokémon during their journey to the League. He was already overwhelmed with the four he had. He couldn't imagine even trying to bond with more than ten Pokémon. He would probably spend the majority of the next few years working with the same team until they became the fearsome titans that he knew they could be.

Still, he was finally starting to settle into being a trainer and all the noise that came with it. A low growl broke through the sounds of the forest and he stopped. Ash glanced to his left, trying to see what had caused Barastyr to get irritated. He bit his lip roughly to stop a laugh.

Apparently, his starter had decided that Caterpie's mere existence in his path was enough to warrant a punishment. The dark type wanted to battle the bug, and would do so even if Ash said otherwise.

Ash tried to keep his expression calm and not let the laugh overtake him. If Bara wanted his fight to be with a Caterpie, then that's what they would do. He was a little hesitant, but the Caterpie was extremely young and not experienced at all. It would be interesting to see how his starter handled the bug.

"Let's start things off with a Headbutt Bara." He muttered as calmly as he could manage. He was curious. Caterpie were never very smart, or strong. This one was no exception. It was quick, though. Bara had a hard time trying to charge it when the bug kept moving out of his way. "Bite." He commanded softly.

That was more Barastyr's style and the dark type finally caught the bug between his strong jaws. Deino held on tightly and shook the bug as hard as he could through his teeth.

Caterpie shot a string shot at Bara, hitting him in the face with the sticky strings. That made the attack change to a crunch, jaws saturated with dark energy to the point that he could have killed the Caterpie if he didn't relax as soon as the bug Pokémon fell unconscious.

Bara spit the bugs tail out and pranced over to his side once again. Ash nibbled on his lip. He was always hesitant to leave an injured Pokémon alone, especially if it had been knocked out like this. Still, he could see at least a dozen sets of eyes watching him. There were other Caterpie waiting for him to leave before they helped the hurt bug.

It would be fine, he assured himself. Barastyr's jaws weren't strong enough to do permanent damage yet. He whistled lowly more for his own gratification than for Barastyr's. That was their signal to keep moving. His starter was clearly annoyed with the command. Still, he wanted to get far enough away that the other Caterpie would help the bug before he pulled off the sticky strands of the string shot Bara had been hit with.

He playfully ducked down and plucked up his starter, tossing him gently into the air. Ash easily caught the dark type, who was facing him in confusion.

"You did great, Barastyr." He complimented easily, adjusting his hold on the dark type so that it was more secure. He walked for less than five minutes before putting down his starter and kneeling next to him. It took only a few seconds to get the sticky substance off of Bara.

His starter had done better than he expected in the fight. Even if his opponent was far faster, Barastyr's brutal jaws made light work of the bugs hard exoskeleton.

They kept on for another hour, each time, Bara was able to use his jaws to end the fights between Weedle's and Caterpie's. They had yet to run into a trainer, but he knew that was more because of Bara and his grumbling than a lack of people. They had managed to take out eight Pokémon, but Bara was pretty much done with fighting at the moment. The Pokémon here were stronger than on route one, and it was taking a toll on his dark starter.

He but his lip in consideration. They still had the better part of eight or nine more hours of walking before they got out of the forest. Longer if they kept stopping for fights. He knew that Oceanius wouldn't be able to take on the rest of the Pokémon here, even if he thought he could.

Ash would have to use Silvanus next. He could use the three of them and rotate them around until they got out of here. He didn't know Silvanus as well as he did Bara or Oceanius, but it didn't matter. Their relationship was just starting out. They were new partners, and would gain the ability to trust each other as they continued their journey. Until then, they would try and work together as much as possible.

Another problem, he supposed, was that he had no idea where Silvanus was, skill wise, compared to Bara and Nius. Neither Silvanus or Bara would be fighting any Kakuna or Metapods anytime soon.

He hesitated a few more seconds, but released the other dragon type, leaving Bara out with a thought. He poked Gible in the arm, enjoying the look of confusion that the dragon gave him, before scooping up Bara once more.

The dark type was not happy to see his teammate in the slightest, but knew better than to fight it. None of them were strong enough to protect Ash alone yet, but they would get there eventually. When their next opponent came into view, Ash felt himself hesitating. Not one, but two past angry Kakuna. They were hissing as soon as Ash came into their view.

Ash bit his lip. Oceanius might be able to beat one, but two? That wasn't happening. One of them, a slightly bigger Kakuna, was leaking poison from its cocoon, while the other locked eyes with Bara and hissed loudly.

Both Silvanus and Barastyr started to growl at the bugs, anger tensing Bara's muscles in his arms. They wanted to fight, but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea. He only had three Pokémon that were able to battle at the moment, Oceanius, Silvanus, and Barastyr. Nephthys couldn't do anything for a few more weeks.

If one of them got seriously hurt, he would have to book it to Pewter. It would be more challenging than anything he had tried, but his Pokémon didn't want to back down. Not that he wanted to either.

He took a deep breath. Every part of him said that his baby dragons weren't ready yet, but they would manage. Barastyr jumped out of his arms, growling dangerously as he did so. Silvanus came closer to the battles edge, heading next to Barastyr without hesitation.

"Barastyr, introduce them to your Dragon Pulse on the bigger one. Silvanus, let's go with Iron head. Stay clear of the poison guys." They growled in agreement and shot forward. Usually, Bara was better with either trying to get his opponent in his jaws, or acting as a battering ram. Since his opponent had poison dripping down its cocoon, he had to attack with some range.

While Bara was gathering his draconic energy, Silvanus had no such trouble. His head was glowing the sharp silvery white that signaled his steel type move was in effect. He rammed forward, sending the Kakuna back a few feet. Silvanus chased his opponent, taking advantage of its poor movement ability to send iron head after iron head after it.

A dark purple beam escaped from his left, and he smirked. That was a sign of a successful Dragon Pulse from Barastyr. It was a good start. Thankfully, once Bara had gathered the draconic energy, it was easier for him to do so a second time. It wouldn't have worked well against an opponent that could move well, or dodge, but against the Kakuna, they were doing better than he expected.

A few minutes later, Silvanus watched Barastyr finally knock out his own opponent from Ash's side. It would have ended quicker if they would have worked together, but Barastyr was too territorial to let anyone help him.

Still, they managed to win. Both of them were fairly tired now, but they did fairly well against the clearly stronger opponents. Ash knew they were lucky that the Pokémon hadn't evolved mid battle, seeing as they were probably about ready for it.

He also knew they would have to do some teamwork exercises, because Bara didn't play well with anyone. He also needed to have another talk with his starter. It was important that Barastyr acted as the head of the pack. As his first Pokémon, the dark type had an obligation of sorts, to the Pokémon who came after him.

Originally, he thought that it might have been because Barastyr was a dark type that he didn't play well with anyone else. That couldn't be right, of course. Dark types were usually solitary Pokémon, but Deino worked in packs until they were ready to evolve. Barastyr was far from ready, and just being stubborn.

Silvanus was more likely to work together with any of the others, but his problem seemed to be laziness and a lack of thinking things through. In the battle, instead of experimenting with his attacks to see what would work best, once he got the command of Iron Head, he stuck with it and was content to stay with the single move. Not the best strategy, but it worked this time. It helped that Gible were usually pack Pokémon and was content to rely on someone else's strength.

Oceanius would work together with Barastyr, only when his life was in danger. It was strange, in a way. Three out of four of his Pokémon should have been used to working with others, but only one actually would. He supposed that it was possible that Oceanius hadn't really spent much time in his hatching grounds, and had probably been left on his own a lot earlier than he should have been. Being a shiny Pokémon may have been extremely intriguing to trainers, but to others of his species, he was probably just an outsider.

With a small sigh, he returned both Silvanus and Barastyr. He should leave a Pokémon out, he knew that, but he needed to figure out how best to effectively train his team, and for that, he needed to spend a little bit of time in his head.

He wasn't sure how long he had been walking when his stomach started growling, but he didn't stop a sigh from escaping his lips. This was going to be the first time he was in the wilderness overnight as a trainer. It should have been an exciting development. But he couldn't make himself care that much. He was tired and sore. His back was still pulled too tightly, partly from the bag, mostly from the scars.

Once he found a place to camp out, it was nearing sunset and he knew that he only had a limited amount of time before he was engulfed in the darkness of night. First, he searched for firewood for his camp site. It took less than ten minutes for him to have an arm full of wood. Next, he peered through the twilight to find a set of rocks he could use to surround his new fire pit. Once that was done, he set up several food bowls and filled them, as well as a few bowls of fresh water. He nodded to himself and pulled out his sleeping bag, setting it up near the fire. The flint in his hands took a few tries to light, but once it did, it was easy enough to coax the flames into a roaring fire.

Finally, he released his team, not paying them much attention as he walked the perimeter with a repel to keep the wild Pokémon hopefully far away from him as he rested. He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.

It had been a productive day, but he still struggled. Lance's words echoed through his mind. The dragon master had been wrong, right? He wanted to prove it to everyone, but more than that, he wanted to prove it to himself. He wanted to be able to help his team reach their full potential.

The question was, where would they cap? How far was the farthest he could take them? He thought they had a vast potential, but he couldn't know yet. He was still inexperienced. He had no idea what he was doing, even if he was trying to guide himself using the past knowledge. He laid down, ignoring his stomach, and through an arm over his face.

Ash had met Lance, the Champion of Kanto and Johto. He had met the dragon master. Lance was someone he both admired and hated, but he had always respected the other man, if nothing else. He still feared him, because of what his dragons could do to Ash's. But other than that? He didn't know how to feel. He didn't know how to react to the feeling of utter despair when it came to thinking about the man who knew more about Dragons than practically any other person on the planet.

He was so tired, exhausted really. He would shake himself out of it in the morning, hopefully. Until then, in the dark, he didn't need to be anything other than himself. He curled up in his sleeping bag and stared at the fire, letting the light playfully dance on the trees.

This was going to be his new normal for the next few years at least, he realized as a wave of exhaustion slammed into him. He glanced around, double checking that his Pokémon were taken care of. Barastyr was chewing on a fallen branch, working his jaw muscles. Oceanius had found a small hole in the ground, bounced over to it, and filled it with a water gun. It was less than six inches deep, so the Horsea wouldn't be able to fully submerge in the water, but it didn't seem like Oceanius minded. Nephthys had somehow gotten up a tree and was coiled around a branch like an Ekans. She watched him with her dark eyes, but seemed more content on the tree than near the others. Only Silvanus was near him, curling up near the fire and dozing thanks to the warmth.

Ash let out a sigh. Hopefully, he would be able to pull this group together into a functional team. Until then, it would remain fractured, kind of like him.


	6. Chapter 6

After the better part of a week inside the hell that was Viridian Forest, Ash knew he wasn't the only one who was glad to be out of the thick woods. At the moment, only Oceanius, who was in his arms, and Silvanus were out. The Land Shark Pokemon walked next to him, grumbling at everything.

That was something he had been surprised to learn. Besides Oceanius, all of his Pokémon were extremely grumpy in the mornings. Oceanius was lethargic, but had no problem doing whatever Ash asked him to do in the mornings. The others... well, they had an attitude in the mornings.

Nephthys was especially irritating, as she would hiss at him and the others whenever they got near her first thing in the mornings. By lunch, she was more cheerful and energetic, but in the mornings, he mostly let her do what she wanted.

Barastyr was most active around sunset, and liked to disappear for an hour or so around then. Seeing as he always came back when Ash called for him, he figured it was pretty harmless to let the dark type do what he wanted. He was moody and snappy until lunchtime, and preferred to stay in his pokeball until it was time for battles. He was extra vicious against someone stupid enough to fight him first thing in the mornings.

Silvanus was protective. When an idiot named Samurai attacked him first thing in the morning at sword point, it was the Gible who went batshit crazy first. Before Ash could even properly wake up, Silvanus had bitten the sword in half and was attempting to bite off the trainers hand.

Silvanus was more uncomfortable around people than the rest of his team, but his protective instincts were on high. Ash was positive that Silvanus had been badly abused for the majority of his life. To his surprise, and horror, the Gible had nightmares more nights than not. With the scars on his back, he made for a pitiful sight. Though, thankfully, he had been gaining some weight now that he was eating properly.

Nephthys just watched from her perch as Silvanus destroyed Samurai's Kakuna. Barastyr almost tore off Samurai's Pincer's arm. Oceanius tried to tear a hole in the other trainers Metapod. It surprised him how well his Pokémon had done against the bugs. To be fair, Samurai was not a good trainer. He had no idea how to use the team he caught. His Pincer didn't listen at all.

Ash snorted in laughter at the memory. Samurai had actually stomped his feet in anger at losing. It was pretty pathetic.

Oceanius turned his head slightly and trumpeted questioning the noise.

"Samurai." He muttered quietly as they breached the forest's exit. Both Silvanus and Oceanius laughed at that. He knew the other boy had tried, but he was just, well, idiotic with the bugs.

Ash walked calmly through the streets, ignoring the man who attempted to wave him down. He had no time for people like that. He was given a wide berth, probably because both Silvanus and Oceanius glared at anyone who bothered looking his way.

They didn't like people, but they were better around them than Barastyr was. He wasn't sure how much attention having Nephthys out would bring, and he also didn't feel like dealing with the burgeoning hatred between Oceanius and Nephthys. For some reason, they had slowly lost tolerance for each other.

Nephthys was still sweet and kind around Barastyr. She even liked Silvanus fairly well. But she absolutely hated Oceanius, and he hated her right back. Oceanius thought he was better than the others, but he was fine around the other two when he was the center of Ash's attention. Otherwise, he got grumpy.

His Pokémon had very strange personalities. Barastyr was angry at pretty much everything and blood thirsty in battle. Nephthys was detached, but clingy towards his other Pokémon. Oceanius was haughty and ornery. Silvanus was clingy, protective, yet always terrified of everyone who came near him.

Ash still wasn't sure how his team was going to come together, but the final two members would help balance things out. Hopefully. Probably. Or it could make things a million times worse.

People were parting as they came around, not wanting to get in the way of a trainer with a dragon type. Ash glanced at Silvanus, raising an eyebrow. He could tell the little dragon was uncomfortable with the attention, unlike Oceanius who was eating it up. He considered returning Silvanus, but shrugged the thought away. As little as Silvanus liked other people watching him, he liked leaving his trainer alone even less. His protective instincts would have him back out in seconds.

Ash ignored the people around him, and simply headed towards the Pokémon center. Barastyr and Oceanius had gotten hurt by a Beedrill that had gotten into their camp earlier. He had given them an antidote, but he wanted to be sure there were no side effects from the poison. He also wanted Nurse Joy to check Nephthys and her new scales. While he was still helping her shed, the newest layer seemed to be a darker purple than the one he had previously helped her get out of. She had noticeably gotten to be a darker purple as the days went by, and he was curious as to why. Usually, shiny Pokémon stayed the same color from the day they were born until they evolved, but she was changing still. He wondered what that would mean for her evolutions, if she ever did evolve. Would she remain the royal purple that she was now, or become another color as she aged?

Either way, her beautiful scales didn't match her personality. She tolerated him helping her shed, but that was about it. She hated when he groomed her, or when he got too close to her. She didn't trust him, he guessed. She wasn't sure as to her place, especially when he was working with the other three and she was forced to sit out, instead of training. Not that she wanted to, of course, but she did want to feel included in the pack.

Speaking of training, Silvanus had proven himself to be extremely talented with his steel type moves, but his control over ground type moves was practically nonexistent. Oceanius had a surprisingly good set of moves, and pretty fair control over them. He was getting to be more and more powerful with his bubble beam. Barastyr was still better with his Crunch attack than his Dragon Pulse, but they were working on it.

They spent at least two hours in the morning training, and another hour once they stopped for the day working on their power and control. He was proud that they were now able to battle more opponents without having to stop and rest. They were still weak, but they were getting stronger. Oceanius was his strongest battler. Barastyr was his most vicious battler. Silvanus was his most balanced battler.

They were making progress. It was slow progress, but he could see a noticeable difference in the way Oceanius and Barastyr fought compared to their first fight.

He had been a trainer for twelve days now, and it was more frustrating than he ever expected. He hadn't had a problem with taking care of them. From grooming to soothing them, he could do that. The problem was that his team was so hardheaded. He had no idea how to reach out to Nephthys, or how to get her to understand that she was part of a team now. She simply didn't care about anyone else. She was the most stubborn of everyone.

She wasn't ready to train yet, and because of that, she was acting more spoiled than she should have been. There was only so much that Ash could do with her right now.

He shook his head and kept moving, sending a small smile down to Silvanus and Oceanius. They were trying to get along, mostly for their trainers sake.

Ash looked around, taking in the large stone buildings that decorated the landscape. There were stones in every building, showing the dedication to the rock types that usually protected them.

A part of him wanted to go and find the first gym. Brock wouldn't be impossible to beat, at least not in a few months. For now, even if Oceanius could get past one behemoth, he wouldn't be able to get past both. Not on his own. None of the others were even close to being ready for the fight. Not yet.

If he was to fight, it would be with Silvanus and Oceanius, seeing as both steel and water attacks were extremely effective against rock types. Maybe by the time he got back from Cyllage Town, they would be ready to go against the Rock King. Until then, it was probably best to stay far away from the gym.

Ash took another look around, wondering if the others that he had left with were already at Mt. Moon or not. He knew that Gary would have had no trouble with this gym. His Squirtle would have torn through whatever beasts Brock put in front of him.

Lillian- Rose probably had an easy time too, as her Bulbasaur would probably do all of the work. Blake probably struggled a bit, more from a lack of experience than a lack of power.

The only one he was unsure about was Vesper. Having Charmander meant that he would have a tougher time than the others for the first three or so badges. After that, his team would dull out more punishment than they would take. While Charmander usually grew fairly quickly, they were not immediately powerful, and he wasn't sure how well Vesper would have dealt with that.

His own team struggled with their limits, getting beaten horribly by a few trainers in the last few days had proved that. They were ready to be powerful, but had no idea how to get there. That was partly why he was pushing them so hard when they were still so young. In three months, the training should start to pay off, and he would revisit this place to finally try to win his first badge.

He knew Oceanius was starting to get annoyed with all of the lower level fights, and wanted someone stronger to go against, but the rest of his team still struggled against Butterfree and Beedrill. Not that Oceanius didn't, but that was more due to his typing compared to his power.

He hid a sigh. There wasn't much he could do until they grew up a bit more. Until then, he would have to be careful how much pressure he put his team under.

His eyes scanned the city around him, looking for the telltale red roof of the Pokémon center. It was only around noon, and assuming that there were no side effects that Nius and Bara had to worry about, and that everything was healing correctly with Nephthys, he'd probably be able to head towards Mt. Moon in the next few hours.

Unlike the others, who probably spent several days in the safety of the city before moving on, he wanted to get as far away as he could by dusk. It wasn't that he had a problem with Pewter City, it was just... he hated being left behind. A lot. Being in cities like this would just rub salt in the wound. His team didn't stand a chance, yet, against Brock. They would eventually, but for now, he needed to keep moving.

After twenty minutes of searching, he finally spied that red roof he had been looking for. He adjusted Oceanius in his arms and glanced down at Silvanus. The Land Shark Pokemon was getting tired, but still stubbornly wanted to stay out.

Ash just rolled his eyes at that, pretending not to notice when Silvanus got closer and took part of Ash's coat in his small claws. It was almost time for them to rest, at least for a few hours.

Something yanked at the back collar of his trench coat, pulling him to a rough halt unless he wanted to choke himself. Oceanius and Silvanus immediately started growling at whatever was behind him, but didn't attack.

He turned as far as he could into the grip, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. An Officer Jenny had stopped him, anger and irritation clear on her features.

"Where do you think you're going with those Pokémon, boy?" She snarled out. Her partner, a Growlith, sat emotionless by her side.

Was that a trick question, he wondered calmly. If so, it was a poor one. "To the Pokemon Center." He answered, keeping his tone respectful and hiding his eyes under his hat to keep her from seeing what he wasn't saying.

"You have no right to be here." She forced him back until he was pressed against the cold stone of a building. "I will not let you endanger the people here, not now."

He tilted his head back. "I kind of do, actually. I just got through Viridian Forest. I'm not planning on staying very long. Besides, I was in Viridian City for almost a week, and nothing happened to anyone."

Why did she think he was a danger to the people here? Even if she had been talking to the other Officer Jenny's about him, the one in Viridian couldn't have said anything bad about him, mostly because he didn't do anything. Then again, she could have been one of those people who believed that dragon types should be eradicated because of the dangers they could become if made angry or desperate enough.

He honestly couldn't believe how many people there were like that. People who had no problem with weaker Pokémon, but believed the titans should be caged and destroyed to protect themselves. Unfortunately, the two types who were the most hated, feared really, were the Dragons and the Darks. Very few people had a problem with Psychics, Grounds, or even Fairies, but they despised Darks and Dragons.

Part of him understood, as they could be volatile, but so could Fire types, or any type really, if pushed to it.

He couldn't stop the disgusted look that overtook his features when he realized her problem. He reached under his coat and pushed the buttons to return both Silvanus and Oceanius. He didn't want to risk their tempers being ignited. Not by someone like her.

"Look, I'm not staying. I just want to get my Pokémon checked out, possibly pick up some more supplies, and then leave before three. I am not challenging Brock today. I'm allowed to go into public areas because I am a trainer. That includes being here if I need to be. I plan on getting out of here as quickly as I can, and would already be closer to leaving if you hadn't stopped me." He knew it was somewhat disrespectful for him to talk to Officer Jenny like that, but he also knew she wasn't allowed to attack him for no reason besides her biases.

An older teen seemed to come from the walls, sighing heavily. "Paula, let the kid go."

She startled at that, turning and rapidly paling. "Brock! I was just..." Her voice died off, unable to come up with an excuse that would work.

Brock, apparently, snorted at that. "Yeah, you were just threatening a kid who is on the League Challenge for coming into a main city." His eyes stayed closed, yet he had a look of exhaustion on his features. This teenager was a Gym Leader. Granted, he was one of the weakest, but he still had a place among the League.

Officer Jenny let go of his coat, and backed away a few steps closer to the leader.

"I thought you told me you could handle yourself, Paula." Brock said with a small sigh, shaking his head lightly.

To Ash's surprise, Officer Jenny looked like she was about to cry. "I can. He just-"

Brock cut her off with a harsh look. "Take the rest of the day off, so that you can get your head on straight. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

With the clear dismissal from a League Member, she let her head fall forward and walked away, defeated.

Brock sighed again, running a hand through his brunette hair. "Sorry about her. We don't like Dragons around here on a good day, and after the mess with the Rocket's yesterday, most of the people here like them even less than usual."

"What did the Rocket's do yesterday?" He hadn't heard anything, but he wasn't exactly listening for anything either. Just the thought of the Rockets was enough to make his back start to ache again. He knew it was mostly in his head, and tried his best to ignore it.

Brock just shook his head. "They got away with some valuable parts of Pewter Cities past. I didn't get there in time to keep them from getting away. Unfortunately for you, they used a Gyarados and an Absol. Dark and Dragon types are going to be watched closer than usual for a while."

"I take it you know who I am." Ash said quietly. If a dragon and a dark type had caused some sort of damage to the city, it made sense that they would be more likely to be hated right now.

Brock simply nodded.

Ash wasn't surprised. Everyone had been warned about the kid with a Deino as a starter. They still expected Barastyr to go on a rampage. He knew that as long as people knew who his starter was, they would treat him differently. The path of a Dragon Trainer was a lonely one, but it was the one he wanted for himself.

"I promise to leave your city before sunset, assuming my Pokémon are ready for me to do so." His voice sounded dull to his ears. He was already tired of being the one that everyone thought was going to become homicidal.

Brock shook his head quickly. "No, it's fine for you to stay as long as you want to. Its important for my people to see dragon type Pokémon as simply Pokémon. I know that my people need to heal, and the best way for them to do it, especially Paula, is to be around Dragons. They're so rare that no one really understands the type. Besides, I think one of the other Pallet Trainers is still here."

It was probably Vesper who had been left behind this time. As confident as he was, he had very little skill to back up his big head. "Is it the one with a Charmander?"

Brock seemed surprised at that. "How did you know?"

Ash couldn't stop himself from snorting. "He's all talk, and no strategy. I bet he hasn't tried to teach Charmander metal claw yet."

Brock was about to reply, but a sudden beam of light caught his attention. Ash glanced to his left and rolled his eyes again. Of course Barastyr let himself out. He had probably been waiting until Officer Jenny was gone.

Barastyr, completely proud of himself, trotted over to his trainer and sat down next to his human's leg. He had gotten bigger in the last twelve days, his jaw was especially starting to be noticeable.

Barastyr's head lulled back and he grumbled in annoyance at the now frozen gym leader.

Ash bent down and scooped up the Pokémon in his arms. He wasn't surprised in the least. Although, he was a bit surprised that Barastyr had waited until Officer Jenny was gone before letting himself out. Ash had half been expecting him to release himself as soon as he had been grabbed.

As soon as the dark type was comfortable, Ash turned his attention back to Brock, chin resting on Bara's head. "Do you see why it's better for me to get out of here?" He said, semi sarcastically. His Pokémon were very opinionated. Silvanus and Barastyr had no problem letting themselves out when they chose to. Oceanius and Nephthys were better about staying until he called them, but that was because Oceanius didn't like bouncing around unless he was in battle and Nephthys just didn't like him.

He considered trying to recall his starter, but pushed the thought from his head. If Brock thought they needed to be exposed to a dragon, then he would be happy to do so. If only for the looks.

Seeing as Brock was still frozen, and most likely not moving any time soon, Ash figured they were done. Turning towards where he had seen the Pokémon center, he nodded to Brock, before continuing on his way. He would leave Barastyr, Oceanius, and Nephthys is Nurse Joy's care while he took Silvanus to get more supplies. It was going to be a simple few hours, and then he could retreat back into the wilderness.

He ignored the looks that he got. It was kind of funny. He got more looks from Barastyr in his arms than he did from Oceanius, a shiny Horsea.

His mind tried to understand what people were seeing from the outside. He wasn't anything special, but his Pokémon were. As one of the two rarest types, Dragons weren't known as well as, say, grass types. It didn't help that most dragons were haughty and had a regal air around them the older they got. Eventually, Oceanius would be a regal king of the Seas, Nephthys and Barastyr would rule the skies, and Silvanus would be a lord on land.

He wondered if Barastyr would ever lose his bloodlust, or if he would learn to hide that unless he was in battle. He doubted it. Barastyr was a dark type before anything else, meaning he would keep a mischievous mindset and a love for chaos.

Nephthys would gain a love for battle, hopefully. Most Dragonite did, but they also held themselves as royals, looking down on practically every other species.

Silvanus could have a royal outlook, but he could also be the battling monster that ground types usually became.

He wasn't sure if it was his dark type, or if he just liked messing with people, but Barastyr seemed to be adoring the looks of horror and fear he was getting. Ash was surprised that Bara seemed almost proud when he made a man walk into a building.

Still, as he wasn't hurting anyone, Ash had no problem letting his little dark type sense the stupidity of those around him. Besides, Bara would be with Nurse Joy for at least a few hours, and he needed to be in a good mood to not go into a rage at the woman.

As soon as he walked through the doors, he sensed something coming at his head. Barastyr snarled loudly and snatched what turned out to be a rock from the air next to Ash's ear. That would have hurt.

He frowned and looked around, trying to see where the rock had come from. A boy with white hair was reclining in a chair, just watching him with cold black eyes. Ash felt his own eyes roll. Of course Vesper tried to hit him with a rock. It was like a game to the other boy. They had never gotten along, even if they had grown up as neighbors.

Vesper had always had a cruel streak that could make a Sharpedo jealous. When the white haired boy moved to Pallet Town, they were both five. Ash had never really needed friends outside of Gary, but they kept being forced together. Vesper was mean, even as a kid. He used to throw rocks at wild Pokémon. Ash had tried to step in a few times, but he had always ended up in trouble instead, and Vesper would get even more smug for a few days.

"Hey, Looser." Vesper called, smirking smugly when the other people in the center turned to Ash and froze as soon as they saw Barastyr.

Ash just rolled his eyes, stroking Barastyr's soft fur to keep him calm. His dark type was practically shaking in fury. Barastyr snarled again, anger clouding his mind. Someone had just tried to attack his trainer, and they were getting away with it.

Instead of acknowledging Vesper, he walked straight to the counter and placed Bara down, poking him gently in the side to get him to calm down. He easily returned the Pokémon, muttering a quiet warning for him to behave, and unhooked two more pokeballs from his belt, Oceanius and Nephthys.

It took almost a minute for Nurse Joy to shake herself out of the trance she had put herself in. Still, she took the offered pokeballs with a shaking smile. Ash muttered that he would be back in an hour, and tried to leave. Sadly, Vesper didn't seem to like his idea, as the other boy practically marched over to him.

Ash rolled his eyes again, hiding the action under his hat. He didn't have time to bother with the other. He had things to do, and places to go.

"I heard you almost got killed by a Meowth." Vesper said, stepping in front of him to block his way out.

"I heard that you lost to Brock, what was it twice now? Three times?" Ash shot back.

Vesper bared his teeth. "At least my Pokémon are strong enough to face the challenge now. How many gym badges do you have again? Oh, wait. My bad."

He was going to have to do better than that to shake Ash's calmness. "I'm not stupid enough to apologize for being picky about what I catch." He tried to sidestep the other boy, but Vesper kept matching his movements. "I'd be careful if I were you. Dragons are notorious for being overprotective, after all."

Vesper snorted at that. "Oh please, I saw you pass over your pokeballs. What? Did your team get K. by a Caterpie?"

Ash just yawned. "You're going to have to do better than that."

A mean grin melted onto Vesper's face, and the next thing Ash knew, his face was bleeding. The idiot had punched him in the nose, possibly breaking it because Ash wasn't giving him the satisfaction of getting wound up.

Several Pokémon released themselves, Silvanus and Barastyr roared in anger and herded Vesper away from Ash, and towards where Oceanius was waiting. He brought a hand to his mouth and whistled sharply, making his Pokémon freeze at the sound.

"Barastyr, Oceanius, back to Nurse Joy. Now. Silvanus, stop it, we both know you won't bite him."

Barastyr snarled louder, but Ash just gave his starter an unimpressed look. He waited, tapping his foot, until his Pokémon obeyed. Oceanius waited at the counter, unable to jump that high, but it was no problem for Barastyr. Silvanus came over to his side, still beyond angry at the sight of blood dripping down his trainers face.

Ash moved to the counter, scooping up Oceanius and putting him on top for Nurse Joy to have easier access too. Once he was done with that, he pinched his nose tightly and tilted his head back, before heading towards the bathroom.

Less than five minutes, and a potion, later, there was no sign that Ash had been hurt beyond some bruising that would take a couple of days to heal properly. Silvanus had yet to leave his side. He ignored Vesper, and everyone else who had just watched the other trainer attack him. Thankfully, Nurse Joy had already taken the other three to the back, so that they could be healed. This time, no one stopped him from leaving, even as Vesper watched him go smugly.

Any other type. If he had any other type, and had been attacked like that, they could have defended him properly, possibly killing Vesper. But, because he had dragons no one was going to believe that he was simply defending himself and not the aggressor. It wasn't fair, but it was the way things worked.

He didn't bother recalling Silvanus, ignoring everyone but the shopkeepers who sold him what he needed. Granted, they probably only did so in order to get him to leave. Not that he really cared. He just wanted to be out of here already.

It took less than half an hour to pick up another ten bags of pokèfood, and a few weeks worth of trainer meals. It took another fifteen for him to refill all of the medicines he had used in the forest.

All the while, people were staring at him and whispering. They should be glad he had a good grip of his temper, or he would have snapped at them before he finished shopping. Silvanus was not happy with the people watching them. Ash could see his jaw twitch occasionally in annoyance, and made a mental note to have Silvanus fight first once they left. The dragon was too wound up, and wouldn't be able to relax until he used up his energy.

Thankfully, Vesper wasn't anywhere in sight when Ash returned for his Pokémon. According to Nurse Joy, there were no side effects from the poison as he treated it quickly, and Nephthys was somehow healing faster than originally thought. She would finally be able to join training next week. He thanked her, and headed out again.

Every time he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, he made another detour. It took almost an hour to finally reach Route 3, but he did it. His Pokémon seemed to relax as soon as the city was no longer in view. Eventually, they would learn to appreciate their time in town, but for now, they hated the looks, and didn't want to have their every move watched constantly.

He smiled to himself as Silvanus and Barastyr raced ahead to scout, or just to chew on trees and boulders. He enjoyed the silence once more, but was careful to keep an ear open for his Pokémon. This wasn't so bad.


	7. Chapter 7

Mount Moon was the second true test of trainers. It was a large, confusing set of tunnels that wove through a mountain. There was only one entrance on Pewter City's side, and one on Cerulean's side. At least twenty trainers died in the caves every year, usually from starvation. The Pokemon on the main paths were usually calm and alright for new trainers, but deep in the depths of the mountain, away from the beaten path, stronger Pokemon made their homes. For the unfortunate trainers stupid enough to stumble across one of their dens, their corpses were never seen.

It was massive, going all the way to the cloudy skies. Huge stones and uneven rock made up the outside of the mountain. If one was to look carefully, they might see a Geodude or two hiding from something larger than themselves. Other pokemon usually stayed away from the mountain, if only because it's dark, inhospitable atmosphere, but rock types in particular loved it.

It was also his next obstacle. He had been walking towards it all day, and was just now reaching one of the two entrances. Silvanus seemed ecstatic to be going inside the caves. Barastyr didn't really care one way or another. Oceanius only accepted it because it was the only path to Cerulean. Nephthys had no idea what was happening, as she was content inside her pokeball.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of Pokémon crawling through the tunnels. From Sandshrew to Zubat to Paris to Geodude to Machop, and on. He remembered his mother's own stories of her trip through the caves, when she was lucky enough to stumble across Star, her Cleffable.

A part of him wanted to find a Cleffa or a Cleffairy for himself, as it was a Pokémon his father had owned as well. He knew just how deceptive their appearance could be. While Star held grudges, she wasn't really a fighter. His father's Cleffable on the other hand was simply a sadist in battle. He was cold, cruel, and stayed on his part of the Ranch.

Maybe he would get his own Cleffa once he had his main team set to grow. But for now, he needed to stay focused on his dragons. There were several others he wanted to get his hands on before he started delving outside of the type he loved. He knew himself well enough to know that by the time he retired, he would have at least twenty of his own pokemon by his side, most of them would be dragons, but not all of them would be.

He shook his head, clearing it so that he could focus on his coming task. He started climbing the stairs that led to the entrance, grumbling as both Silvanus and Barastyr were able to climb faster than he could. Silvanus glanced back at his trainer, impatience in his eyes. Oceanius just trumpeted from his arms.

Ash just shook his head at his Land Shark pokemon. What was it that Professor Oak used to say? You can take the Pokemon out of the mountains, but you couldn't take the mountains out of the Pokemon.

This was just another challenge that he would overcome on his way to Cerulean, and he would be able to take his time crossing the threshold. He wondered for a moment if Gary or any of the others were still in the mountain. It was possible, he supposed, as it usually took people the better part of two weeks to cross the mighty Mount Moon. With Vesper being at least a day behind him, it was possible that all five of the Pallet Town Trainers would be in the same place at the same time. Huh.

They had all been trainers for fifteen days by this point, and had moved pretty far, extremely fast. Gary was no surprise, as he was extremely talented, but the other three made him raise an eyebrow wondering how they had gotten here already.

It had taken his mother one month, and a week, to get to this point in her own journey, while his father got here in twenty-six days. He wasn't sure how they had gotten here so quickly, especially because he had spent most of his first week in the hospital.

Fifteen days in, and Nephthys was finally, finally!, starting to warm up to him. His little princess was still a problem child, but she still got along pretty well with Barastyr. She had gotten to the point that she would try and attack Oceanius the second they saw each other though, not that it hurt his regal seahorse, but it was still something he was trying to find a way to stop. She didn't even notice Silvanus, possibly because he was usually glued to Ash's side.

Barastyr had started showing his true dark type colors by being vicious inside of battles and mischievous outside of them. He had become fond of taking Ash's hat and hiding it before sunrise every morning. He liked messing with everyone, excluding Nephthys. For some reason, she seemed to be off limits to Barastyr, for now. How much longer that would last, Ash had no idea. She annoyed Bara, but he put up with it.

Oceanius was growing rapidly, already gaining a bit more bulk with every passing day or battles. He was starting to relax more with Barastyr, but still couldn't stand Nephthys. Oceanius would never be friends with Barastyr, and he was icy cold to Nephthys, but he was cordial with Silvanus. He hated that Nephthys was being spoiled, but Oceanius would get her back the second Ash had the Okay for her to join in their 'training sessions.'

And Silvanus, silly, crazy Silvanus, had taken to prowling the shadows in order to nibble at people's ankles. He never did any real damage, but he scared several trainers. While he still struggled with nightmares, Silvanus had no problem slipping into Ash's sleeping bag and relaxing with his trainer afterward. He still didn't like anyone touching his back, but Silvanus was a sucker for a good scratch on his horns or chin. He was gaining weight, slowly and steadily, and he looked less like a skeletal Gible and more like a sinewy one instead.

His Pokemon were slowly, extremely slowly, starting to resemble a team. They could fight trainers now, even if they still lost occasionally. Oceanius was leagues ahead of the others, but he seemed to just become more proud of his spot with every passing battle. His power was, thankfully, growing at a rapid rate, just like almost all water types were known to do.

The air near the entrance of Mount Moon seemed to be heavier than he expected. Even Silvanus, who had bound up here like an excited Lilliepup, seemed to notice that something wasn't quite right. Barastyr's fur on his head was starting to rise, making it clear that the Pokémon was uncomfortable. Even Oceanius seemed hesitant.

Still, this was the easiest way across, and they had no choice but to go through. Ash took a breath, shifting Oceanius into one arm so that he could pull his flashlight from his pocket. He had heard that the mountain was poorly lit, and loud, considering the amount of Pokémon inside.

Yet, it was completely silent.

Something wasn't right. He could tell that down in his bones. There should have been Pokémon everywhere, but, even with the flashlight shining, he didn't see anything except for the darkness as the light was swallowed. Barastyr bared his teeth at the dark, but stayed back and let Silvanus take point.

Seeing as Silvanus was a ground type as well as a dragon type, he figured that the Gible had the best chance of guiding him through the mountain. Besides, most Gible were born in the mountains, and could read them better than any other dragon type could he knew that if anyone could lead them through, it would be Silvanus.

Meanwhile, Barastyr would deal with any threat that came from the ground itself, seeing as he didn't have eyes and could sense the disturbances as easily as Silvanus could. Oceanius' job was to keep any flying Pokémon away from them with his water gun and bubble beam.

He would have liked to keep Nephthys out too, but she was too finicky for him to trust in a place like this. Besides, she still couldn't fight yet. Not for another two or three days. Hopefully, once she could train, she would start to trust him a little more, and he could trust her as well. Until then, for everyone's sanity, she would stay in her pokeball.

The cave was colder than he expected, making him shiver under his coat and pull it closer to himself. None of his Pokémon would have trouble with the cold, aside from Nephthys. Yet another reason to make sure she stayed safe.

Silvanus grumbled and waved his arms wildly, pointing for them to continue straight. Ash looked closer at the caves walls, and realized that there was another path, one that was well hidden, but apparently didn't lead where they needed to go. He followed his newest Pokémon, keeping the flashlight pointed down behind Silvanus so as not to blind his Pokémon.

Further and further they traveled. The cave walls seemed to try and suffocate them occasionally, as the paths grew more narrow. The longer they were in there, the less comfortable he felt. He should have seen or heard at least a dozen Pokémon by the time they had been in the darkness for an hour. But there was nothing. The cave was completely still.

He couldn't help but wonder if everything he had heard about the cave had been a lie, something used by veteran trainers to unnerve newbie's. As much as he wanted to believe that, he couldn't. He had spent a lot of time with Professor Oak over the last few years, and had overheard several of his assistants complaining about running out of repels in Mt. Moon.

There were several strong species that called this place their home, as well as some of the heartiest. There was no way that there was not even a Zubat in the tunnel. Something was definitely wrong here.

Oceanius bumped his chin, catching his attention, and gestured forward with a silent nod. Ash moved the light further out.

Ash blinked. Huh.

A Bellsprout was watching him from further down the tunnels. Usually, the species was known as a bit of an airheaded one, but this one seemed focused. Its black eyes were glinting in the flashlight, simply watching, waiting for something.

He could honestly say he wasn't expecting this to be the first Pokémon he encountered in Mt. Moon, but he wasn't complaining. At least, until both Barastyr and Silvanus started snarling at the small plant- like Pokémon. Oceanius's scales had started to spike up in preparation for a fight, even as he remained silent.

Something was very wrong. Instead of being intimidated, the Bellsprout seemed to make a chuckling noise. It certainly looked amused, which was strange for the species. It shouldn't have known what was going on, being mostly on the lower levels of intelligence.

There was something in its glittering onyx eyes that he couldn't read, but his Pokémon certainly weren't having the same problem. Barastyr had backed up a few steps, getting closer to his trainer while Silvanus attempted to get it out of their path. His Pokémon were clearly frightened of the little plant, but he couldn't see why.

Until it chuckled again, raising its leaf like hands in a dangerous wave. An eerie green powder, just glittering enough for the light to catch it, appeared. Ash cursed to himself. None of his Pokémon had the ability to send back a Sleep Powder. Not in the traditional sense anyways.

He couldn't do anything, he realized dully as the powder made its way past Silvanus and Barastyr. They were falling asleep. His own eyes started feeling heavy, closing on their own.

His mind felt clogged, almost as if none of his thoughts could form completely before being stolen away by a tidal wave of exhaustion. "Oceanius, water gun." The words were almost impossible to form, but it was the only possibility. If Oceanius could rinse off the powder before it had a chance to take both Silvanus and Barastyr out, then they might be able to get away.

He felt Oceanius struggle in his arms, trying to follow the command. Sadly, he was completely asleep before he had a chance to see if his idea worked. All he knew was darkness.

The next thing he knew, his entire body started to ache from… something. His eyes snapped open, trying to regain his bearings. It took him a few seconds to realize what he was seeing, and even longer to realize what had happened.

Two people, one with fiery red hair, and the other with soft lavender hair, were talking quietly to each other on the other side of the bars he was now stuck behind. They looked familiar, but he couldn't place them. His mind was still trying to catch up with his body. Golden eyes glanced around, taking in everything in the span of seconds, even if it took a lot longer for it to process in his brain.

There were several Pokémon out of their pokeballs, including the same Bellsprout from before. It noticed his attention and chuckled, waving its leaves at him. An Ekans, the same one he had fought in Viridian, was coiled up, watching a large satchel of pokeballs. A Koffing floated nearby, ready to release a toxic gas at any moment if anyone dared to move. A Venonat rested against the stone walls, looking as if it was simply taking a nap.

He took a few seconds to look around the cage that he was now trapped in. There were at least a dozen trainers all tied up, like himself, thrown on the floor like garbage. Several more were in a pile by the Venonat. He didn't want to think about why they were so still. The other trainers in the cage seemed pretty out of it. He was still feeling the effects of the sleep powder in his system, but he had probably been hit with a weaker dose, seeing as he was awake and the others weren't.

His eyes scanned the other trainers, freezing when he recognized a brunette who was watching the satchel with dulled eyes. Gary Oak had somehow been captured, and hurt from the looks of him. He had never seen Gary looking as lethargic as he seemed to be, at least not unless it was early morning.

He spotted both Blake and Lillian- Rose as well. Great, just what he needed. He had no doubt that all three of them were stronger than he was at the moment, but Lillian and Blake were just going to be a pain in the ass.

He shook himself slightly, just enough to take stock of himself. His back was practically on fire, probably from his arms being behind his back. His forehead ached from falling forward into sleep. He hoped he hadn't hurt Oceanius when he fell. His stomach was bruised, thankfully. It meant that somehow, someway, they had missed a pokeball on his belt. The trench coat probably got in the way, as they hadn't thought to take it off of him.

Seeing as he doubted any of the Pokémon he had out when he was knocked unconscious, that meant he only had Nephthys with him. He resisted the urge to groan. Of course he would have the only Pokémon who couldn't battle on him. How typical.

He wondered how he would get himself out this time. While he could fight, or at least try to, it would be useless. Nephthys was still healing. Even if she wasn't, there was no way she could take out four Pokémon by herself.

Well, that did him a lot of good. If he had Barastyr with him, he could use the dark types natural mischievous nature to figure out how to free himself. Silvanus had the natural advantage of being a ground type, so he was more able to surprise their captors. Oceanius would probably work on just finding a comfortable place to hide and start shooting a water gun.

Nephthys, on the other hand, wasn't a Pokémon he had really bonded with. He didn't understand her as well as he did the others. She should have been extremely vicious, possibly like Oceanius, due to her off colored scales. She could have been shy, but she was mostly just dismissive. Almost as if he wasn't worth her time. It was going to take some work in order to understand her, but she wasn't ready for them to work together yet. And truthfully, he wasn't ready for her to join in their training sessions yet. He loved that she seemed to have all the regality of the dragon typing, and he was more worried about pushing her than any of the others.

He still couldn't get the vision of her bleeding, lifeless body tossed by the Gyarados out of his head. He might have been a little more protective over her than the other three, but he knew the feelings would start to disappear once she proved that she could take care of herself.

The Bellsprout went over to his captors and laughed again, getting their attention. The Rocket's glanced around, trying to see what had caught the Bellsprout's attention. Their eyes landed on him as a plan formed in his head. Hopefully, Barastyr was as protective over him as he thought the dark type was.

He didn't bother moving, but met their eyes with a blank expression. He was terrified, but he knew better than to show it to people like them.

They seemed surprised to see him awake, like they hadn't expected anyone to be conscious yet. But the expression melted off their faces at the same time. Only glee showed now.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, James. Looks like Balthazar caught us another trainer, and one that we know has some rare Pokémon too." The girl taunted, coming over to kneel on the other side of the bars. Her blue eyes were mocking him.

"He does know how to catch trainers, doesn't he Jessie?" The man, James said back, petting the Bellsprout on top of its head as it laughed again. "I wonder how the boy managed to wake up so early." He shot the Bellsprout a look, more curious than scolding.

"Who knows." Jessie shrugged, bored, before smirking at him. She ran her eyes over him and the others trapped behind the bars. "Do you know who we are, twerp? Do you know what we do to trainers stupid enough to get in our way?"

His eyes moved on their own to the pile of bodies near the Venonat. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to.

"Sometimes." Jessie admitted easily. "Honestly, we make more money if the trainers are alive, but our Pokémon don't really care about that. As soon as our boss gets here, we're going to transport you pretty children to our base. From there, well, you might wish that you had pissed off Balthazar."

Ash just watched them, careful to not show anything on his face. While horrifying, he wasn't surprised. He had heard what the Rockets would do, the scars they left on Silvanus were more than enough for him to know that the rumors were true. Still, it was difficult to be afraid when his back was on fire. Besides, someone would get curious when they realized that no trainers had made it through Mt. Moon in the last day.

James seemed distracted as he stared at Ash, as if trying to figure something out. "You do know what will happen to you, don't you?"

Ash lazily turned his gaze to James. He knew alright. He knew that there was a good chance that he would be killed, or sold, by the Rockets. He also knew that freaking out wasn't going to do anything but take away his ability to think. If he was going to die here, he wasn't going to spend his time lost in what might happen to him. Or his Pokémon.

As long as he kept his face blank, he had a chance.

Jessie glanced back towards her partner, starting to hesitate.

A loud roar echoed through the cavern. It was a call to fight from an older, stronger Pokémon. He fought to keep a grin off of his face. That was probably Pewter's Gym leader, Brock, or Cerulean's Leaders, the Sensational Sisters. Good. They had a chance to get out of here now.

Both Jessie and James started running towards the noise, their Pokémon following their lead. Honestly, he wasn't sure why they even bothered. Sure, Brock was the youngest Gym Leader, but he still had an unmovable power that made him so dangerous to fight against. Brock might have lost often with his newbie team, but with his actual team, he was a very dangerous foe. Ash had actually watched Brock's Leader Fight, and it was bloody. He had a vicious Golem, a Gigalith, an Onyx, a Tyranitar, an Aggron, and a giant, but steady, Rhyperior. Brock wasn't going to lose. Not to them.

Now to actually help himself. He shifted slightly, placing his weight on Nephthys' pokeball, releasing her with a beam of light. Thankfully, she formed on the other side of the bars.

She shook her head, big eyes looking around in confusion. He rarely called on her, but right now he didn't have that choice.

"Nephthys, can you help get to that satchel?" He asked, watching as her eyes snapped to his. She seemed horrified and let out a wounded noise. She tried to slither over to him, but he shook his head. "I know you're worried baby girl, but I need you to let out the other Pokémon before the Rockets get back. We can't fight them by ourselves, but if there's enough Pokémon, we might stand a chance if we attack at the same time."

She looked at him, dark eyes glittering in determination as she moved carefully to the satchel. She couldn't release them in the traditional sense, but she could activate the release mechanism with her nose or tail. She started knocking the bag over, letting the cave floor do some of the work for her.

"Good job, Nephthys." He muttered out, focusing on the shapes of the other Pokémon as they started to form. A Deino, his Deino, formed first, shaking his head in confusion as he tried to remember what had happened. A Wartortle, Brat if he guessed right, was next. Slowly but surely, more Pokémon were released, each panicking and hunting through the slight light for their trainers.

Brat reached Gary, poking him through the bars with a worried noise. A large Pidgeotto fluttered down, landing next to Brat. A Nidorino was next to see his trainer, coming over to the others with a grumpy, but worried expression, it was head butted by a smaller female Nidoran. Finally, a small, candle like Pokémon that he recognized as Litwick floated over while a Beedrill hissed at them as it flew towards the trainer. Gary's Team was growing.

Ash's own Pokémon seemed upset and freaking out. Barastyr seemed especially upset. Ash made a quiet noise, hushing his starter. They couldn't draw too much attention to themselves. Not if he didn't want the rockets coming back too soon. His eyes darted around, looking for Oceanius. The little Horsea was watching with worried eyes, but was closer to the cavern where the Rockets had gone.

"Oceanius, I need you." He muttered. Oceanius huffed, but bounced over to him. "I need you to wake up the other trainers. I'm guessing they got hit with the same sleep powder we did. We don't have time to let it wear off normally. Hopefully, a weak water gun will do the trick."

He hated having to rely on something like that, but he knew that as long as Oceanius could keep the power down, it shouldn't hurt the other trainers. Oceanius looked hesitant, but nodded. To his surprise, it wasn't his Horsea that fired the first shot, but Brat, right at Gary's face.

Thankfully, the attack made Gary simply sputter, awareness coming back to his dark eyes as he tried to figure out what was going on. His team was gathered around the cage, and Gary sent them a small smile. It only took a few minutes for Oceanius and Brat to work together in order to wake up the other trainers. Ash was careful to keep his eyes away from the corner of the room, where at least a dozen Pokémon were trying to get their trainers to wake up.

Once they were awake, they came across another problem. How could they get untied? Ash looked around at the Pokémon, mind on another problem. They would need a Pokémon with Toxic to melt the bars, then Silvanus or Barastyr could come in and bite off the ropes.

Slowly, his eyes moved to the Nidorino. The Pokémon was still small, probably newly evolved, but clearly on its way to being a powerhouse. With it, the Beedrill, Lillian- Rose's Ivysaur, and Oceanius' natural poison, they could be able to tear through the bars with poison. Using Blake's Psyduck and Poliwhirl, they could also freeze the bars, then weaken them with the fire from Lillian's Vulpix, before having Silvanus and Barastyr try to break them with their jaws.

He was suddenly extremely grateful that the others had been catching Pokémon like crazy. All of them had six, probably more back in Pallet, and they were all different types. Gary had a Wartortle, a Pidgeotto, a Beedrill, a female Nidoran, a Nidorino, and a Litwick. Lillian' Rose had her Ivysaur, a Roselia, an Oddish, a Vulpix, a Staryu, and a Goldeen. Blake had a Solosis, a Psyduck, a Poliwhirl, a Geodude, a Duskull, and an Igglybuff. They all had teams that were flexible, and able to be used in practically any situation.

Except for him. He was further behind than the others, even if they had started at the same time. His Pokémon weren't ready for the tougher terrain than possibly the Viridian Forest. Yet, here they were, four of the five who had left together. They had left him in the dust, unable to keep up. Ash couldn't believe that both Gary and Lillian's starters had already evolved. It was strange, yet almost awe inspiring in a twisted way. He wanted to be at their level, but he couldn't be. Not right now.

He shoved the thoughts out of his head. They had to escape right now. He could brood over how far behind he was when they were out of this mess. They had over sixty Pokémon that could get them out. Including Blake's Solosis.

"Can Solosis teleport?" The words were barely out of his mouth, before he winced. "Never mind." Sadly, Solosis was one of the few psychic Pokémon that couldn't learn teleport, even if it's power was rarely matched in other psychic fields. Duskull might be able to phase them through the bars, his mind wondered. He dismissed that idea as well. If it could, it would have already. So, ice or poison?

He turned his head so that he was facing Gary, "Ice or Poison?" He asked quietly.

Gary's eyebrow shot up, taking a few moment to process the words, before nodding to himself. "Probably poison. Ice would work better if we could move, but seeing as we're all stuck...:"

Frostbite. Ash nodded back. That was a good point. To be fair, poison wasn't much better, not when it came to Pokemon lacking in accuracy. In that case, it might be better to work with fewer Pokemon that had a better grip on their poison. Probably Nidorino, Ivysaur, and Beedrill. Oceanius didn't use his toxic spikes outside of battle, and that was mostly because he had to have a certain amount of adrenaline before it would start secreting.

"Nidorino, Beedrill, and Ivysaur?" Gary asked, glancing at the Pokémon as he said their names.

Ash hesitated, before nodding. "It's probably best for them to send the attacks over here."

Lillian made an annoyed sound in her throat. "Excuse me? Why should you get freed first? We don't even know how long we've been here! Ladies should be first, Ash- Idiot."

He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. "If they screw up, seeing as there's no one near me, then only I die, and you all can still be rescued through the hole."

That shut her up. It was a good point, even if it made his team growl. If they missed the bars, or used too much acid that it slipped through the bars, it would only get him. If they messed up anywhere else, then more people would get hurt, and possibly die.

Another roar shook the room, this one belonging to a far younger Pokémon, one that had to be extremely close by. It sounded familiar to Ash, almost as if he had heard the attempt at a roar before.

Gary tensed, head moving towards the noise. "Brat." He said slowly, "It might be a good idea to-"

A Sandile slithered into Ash's view, throwing its head back and letting out a roaring hiss. It wasn't happy. It was mildly bigger than most Sandile, weighing almost forty pounds, and being just about three feet in length. It was nearing evolution, but there was a familiar glint of malice in his sparkling onyx eyes.

His jaw dropped. "Is that…"

"Anubis. Gramps sent him for you. He's been a giant pain in the ass, I hope you know." Gary interrupted, clearly grumpy about the crocodile Pokémon.

Ash had met the young male Sandile as a hatchling, only a few months prior to him starting his journey. The little one had been abandoned by the trainer who had more than a dozen Sandile in hopes of finding one with the ability Anger Point. This one wasn't like his brothers and sisters, fierce and angry from the moment he hatched, Anubis was an unpredictable sandstorm.

He was also extremely attached to, and protective over Ash. While Professor Oak tried to give the dessert croc the attention he needed, he was just too busy to spend all of his time on the ranch. Ash on the other hand, had nothing to do except for school. He wanted to take the Pokémon with him as his starter, but those hopes had been dashed. The girl who hatched him refused to give the Pokémon to anyone, and forbid Professor Oak from letting him take the croc.

He had been devastated, but when he met Barastyr, he had started to heal. Seeing Anubis again ripped the healing scab from his heart. He missed the fiercely protective Pokémon.

Anubis had seen the other humans, and didn't care about leaving them to rot. Until he heard Ash's voice and saw his boy tied up and hurting. The other humans could die for all he cared, but not this one. The small crocodile stormed over to the bars, tilting his head with the flexibility that Sandile were known for, and chomped down on the metal, tearing it out of the ground with his powerful jaws. He spat the bars beside him and worked to widen the hole.

Within minutes, his human could escape. Anubis growled and continued on his warpath into the cage with the other humans, hissing violently to get the other Pokémon to back off, before he crawled next to Ash, sliding one powerful tooth in between the ropes holding the boys hands behind his back. They snapped easily under his might.

Once the humans hands were free, Anubis started his inspection of his boy. He growled lowly when he smelled pain coming from his human.

Ash just chuckled, a sound he hadn't made in what felt like forever, and pushed himself up into a sitting position so that the Sandile could crawl on his lap, practically squishing him under his bulk.

He ran a hand down Anubis's spine, soothing the still hissing Pokémon. "I'm fine, Anu." He muttered out, watching in amusement as Barastyr and Silvanus got increasingly jealous. "Thanks for saving me."

Anubis snorted, leaning his head back so that he could touch Ash's neck with his snout. The Pokémon could have easily killed him, but Ash simply relaxed into the touch. Anubis would die before he harmed his boy. That was a fact.

After a few more seconds, Ash gently nudged the Pokémon off of him. They still needed to get out of here. He rolled his eyes when Anubis herded him to the far corner, finally allowing other Pokémon to enter and help the other trainers. Gary's Wartortle was the first one to enter, simply huffing as he passed the Sandile, and used his sharp claws to break the ropes holding Gary, before moving onto some of the others.

All of the other trainers were up and out of the cage that had held them before Ash was allowed to leave by Anubis, who still growled at anyone who dared to get close to the human. The trainers started dividing up the pokeballs, trying to figure out which one belonged to which trainer.

It took the better part of ten minutes before everyone was free, and had their Pokémon resting again, excluding Ash, who had left Barastyr and Silvanus out, Gary, who had Brat, Lillian, who kept her Ivysaur, Holly by her side, and Blake, who was being clung to by a very grumpy looking Duskull while a pouting Solosis watched from the side.

The other trainers were starting to head further into the cave, in the opposite direction of the Rockets, keeping together this time and ready for a fight. Except for the Pallet town trainers.

The four of them were busy. Lillian and Blake were trying to comfort the Pokémon whose trainers had been killed. And Gary was watching the Sandile with an annoyed expression as he passed over a pokeball to Ash.

"Gramps gave all of us a second Pokémon, one that he said we would need, even if we didn't really want it. I got Litwick, Lily got a Budew, Blake got his Duskull, Vesper was given a Spheal, and you were supposed to get Anubis. If you had bothered checking in back home, he would have given Anubis to you, but seeing as someone is avoiding Pallet Town, Gramps asked me to give him to you instead. He also changed our licenses, so that we can carry seven instead of six, with the requirement that we keep these little demons with us." Gary explained quietly, trying to ignore the wailing of the Pokémon nearby.

Ash glanced down. He was pretty sure that last rule was mostly for him, seeing as Anubis hated the Professor and enjoyed giving him hell for no reason. Ash took the offered pokeball and clipped it to his belt, before the two of them went over to join the other Pallet Town Trainers. As much as he wanted to leave this horrible place behind, he couldn't do that, not yet.

And here he thought he had finally gotten rid of his sense of empathy.

_(An: holy hades! Mount Moon! Mount Moon! Mount Moon! I freaking love Mt. Moon! So many things are going to be happening soon, and this is a turning point for our dear Ash. I would like to say that, as much as I want to respond to every review, and trust me, I really, really, really do, I know I might accidentally spoil parts of the story. Some of you have given me more than a few awesome ideas for later on, and I actually can't wait until I get to post the next chapter! Thank you all for the support! I can't believe this story I started has gained as much popularity as it has, and it's all because of you guys! Thanks again, and I'll see you all in a couple of weeks for the next part!)_


	8. Chapter 8

I know, I know, I'm really late with this chapter. Sadly, this is my least favorite chapter out of all of them, but its still extremely important. That said, I have completely rewritten this darn thing about five or six times already. Its... better. Not perfect, but better. Hopefully, you guys like it!

Because its been requested several times, heres the list for the start of the chapter:

Deino- Barastyr

Horsea- Oceanius

Gible- Silvanus

Dratini- Nephthys

Axew- Hades

Larvitar- Icelos

Bagon- Megara

Cleffa- Eris/ Pandora

Sandile- Anubis

Trapinch- Viridios

* * *

He was numb. Completely numb. It probably had something to do with shock, or something similar, now that he was finally safe. Or was he? He didn't even know anymore. He was too young, too immature really, to deal with all the death he had seen. That didn't change the fact that he could have died.

Supposedly, he was safe now. It was almost impossible to tell his mind that, though. How could he be safe, his mind questioned, when the Rockets killed as many people as they had? They were going to kill him, or worse. How could he feel safe when he had been helpless just hours prior? How could he feel safe when the same Rockets who had attacked him before had come back a second time? How could he feel anything resembling safe when his team was such a mess?

While he and the other were trying to calm down the Pokémon, Bruno, of the Elite Four, Brock, and all three of the Sensational Sisters had stormed the mountain, taking it back from the Rockets and cleansing every ounce of that filth from there. Some of the most powerful trainers in all of Kanto had come to rescue them, to help keep them safe. It should have been a relief.

But they had been too late.

Eighteen trainers, most of whom were around his age, were dead. Fifty-three Pokémon had died of poison. Seventy Pokémon that had been owned were now alone. They still weren't sure how many other trainers had simply disappeared, or how long the Rockets had been using that place as a hideout. It was just luck that the League had interfered when it did.

Thanks to that, he had four new Pokémon, a Bagon, an Axew, a Cleffa and a Larvitar. All three had belonged to another trainer named Xander and had been given to him as they refused to be split up. They had taken the loss of their trainer extremely badly, especially Larvitar, who had been Xander's starter.

Apparently, the other boy, who was born in Fort Tree in Hoenn. He had come to Kanto in hopes of getting his hands on a Cleffa, who while still rare, were more easily spotted in Mt. Moon than any other place in the world. He had succeeded but hadn't been able to leave before the Rockets had gotten, and killed, Xander and two of his other Pokémon, a Poochyena and a Nuzleaf.

The Pokémon, once they found their trainer at the bottom of the pile, went berserk. Ash couldn't blame them. They had been destroyed the cavern, almost causing a cave in, and seemed to be trying to kill everyone in their pain. Barastyr, Anubis, and Oceanius had been forced to knock them out in order to keep the stability of the cave.

Bruno and Brock had taken one look at the Pokémon, who his team was now guarding, and transferred ownership to him. The others had gotten new Pokémon as well, including Gary who now had a Magby, an Eevee, and an Abra.

He had tried to protest, telling them that Xander's Pokémon should go to his parents, his family, or his professor. But no, the other boy had a father who was a banker, that was it. His father apparently, didn't want anything to do with the creatures that couldn't protect his son. It was cruel, and hard to hear, but it had broken his new Pokémon.

Ash couldn't bring himself to be excited about his new additions. Every time he looked at the Pokéballs on his belt, of which there were now nine, he felt heavy, tired, cold, and terrified.

He understood the League's decision. If they took in a few Pokémon, three each, excluding him, then there would be thirteen less Pokémon to home. The Pallet Town Trainers had already proven that they could handle them, as all of them had been forced to fight the Pokémon who had taken it the worst. The League had adjusted their licenses from seven to ten in order to make sure that they kept their new Pokémon with them and didn't just toss them off on Professor Oak.

Seeing as Ash still had one space left, he had no doubt that the League would find one other Pokémon to give him. He didn't want it. He wasn't sure how to deal with the malicious Larvitar, the emotionless Axew, the broken Bagon, or the scarred Cleffa. He couldn't deal with anything else. His own team was still freaking out. Anubis had refused to be returned and was hiding under the bed at the Pokémon Center, hissing at anyone who came into the room. Barastyr was on his bed, curled around his trench coat, unwilling to let go. Silvanus was snarling in the closet, not wanting any of the others near his space. Oceanius was in the tank, alone as he and Nephthys had gotten into a horrific fight and didn't want to be messed with. Nephthys was in the rafters above them all, refusing to get down. His four new Pokémon were huddled together in the bathroom. It was all a mess.

Nothing was okay right now.

He had thought he was prepared for his journey, but he wasn't prepared for this. This wasn't right. This went against everything he stood for. He couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to his team if he had been in Xander's place. Would his mother have taken in his Pokémon? Would they be forced to listen to some strange, unknown trainer with a threat of being put down if they didn't listen? Would they have banded together, like Xander's Pokémon had? Or would they push each other way, like they always did?

He couldn't stand the thought of his Pokémon being divided up among several different people, with the thought that they would be killed if they didn't listen to whoever they were forced with. Ash knew that he would never be able to recommend that one of the new Pokémon should be put down. He couldn't do that. Not to Xander, the Hoenn boy, and not to the Pokémon that he left behind.

A heavy knock on his door tore him out of his thoughts. He pulled himself up, holding Barastyr in his arms, and went to the door. He had the room for another week at least. Outside was Bruno, who despite seeming sympathetic, was holding yet another Pokéballs in his hand. The man passed it over before turning and walking away.

That had been a surprise, he could admit. Bruno was one of the most powerful trainers in the world, but no one was following him around right now. No one was asking him for advice, or how to handle their Pokémon in a way that could help their growth. Even he, who usually admired the harsh, hot headed E4 trainer, couldn't bear to ask for advice from him. He was mourning for those who had fallen to the Rockets, like practically everyone else. He didn't want to associate the E4 trainer with misery, but he couldn't help it.

If Bruno had been faster, if he had arrived earlier, less people would have died. Ash knew it was unfair of him to think like that, and he hated himself for it, but it didn't make it any less true. He blamed Brock, Lily, Daisy, and Violet as well, but they were just Gym Leaders.

It didn't help that Bruno seemed to dislike him on sight. It seemed like Lance had spoken to his fellow E4 trainer and whatever he had to say wasn't good, but it wasn't enough for him to interfere.

Lance was the one who hated him first, the one who had talked down to him for something that he didn't understand. Lance was the one who passed down his dislike to Bruno. Or at least, he hoped that was the case. It would have been easier than if Bruno simply disliked Ash for who he was.

Ash wanted to scream, his eyes watering as yet more stress was placed on his shoulders. He closed the door and slid down to the ground, holding the final Pokéball of his team. He had never wanted a large team, he had always wanted to focus on a smaller one, but he didn't have a choice anymore. He cradled the Pokéball in one hand as Barastyr jumped out of his arms to curl up beside him on the floor.

He had to try and make this work, he told himself. This was his life now, and he owed it to his Pokémon, the ones that had been his and the ones that had been forced on him, to make it work.

Still, he didn't want to meet his newest team member like this, in a room drowning in despair. He ran a hand through his hair. He had to make this work. He had no choice anymore. He couldn't just sit around until everything was alright, he had to work at it until his Pokémon could be happy again.

With that in mind, he withdrew all of his Pokémon, excluding Anubis who refused, and headed towards the bathroom. Anubis would guard the room while he cleaned up and pulled himself together. As little as he wanted to admit it, he trusted Anubis more than any of the others when it came to protecting him. As fearsome as Barastyr and the others would come, for now they were still weak and young. Eventually, they would get stronger, and he would be able to depend as heavily on them as he did Anubis.

Until then, he would be strong for them.

As soon as he stood in the steam, his mind started kicking itself into overdrive. They had been safe for two days, and all he had done was hide away. He hadn't even known where to start helping Xander's Pokémon, but he would figure it out. Starting, if he was right, with Cleffa or Larvitar.

Another thing he would have to do is to start referring to them by the names that Xander gave them. While he could try and change their names, he doubted it would stick. Besides, it was a way to honor their original trainer.

He washed his hair, getting out all of the dirt and grime from the past few days. It took longer than it should have, but Ash allowed himself to spend the extra time in the steam. He needed to relax a bit, and the water was forcing his muscles to let go.

Once the water started cooling down, he pulled on his clothes. When his trench coat had finally settled on his shoulders, and his hat on his head, he pulled out his Pokènav and headed towards the desk. According to this, the Cleffa was named Eris, Larvitar was actually Icelos, Axew's nickname was Hades, and Bagon, who was a female, he noted with surprise, was called Megara. The last one made him freeze.

Rage filled him, bubbling ugliness from the depths of his mind. Someone needed to go back to a Pokémon Academy. The Pokéball was in his hand as he stormed out of the room, looking for the idiot who thought that giving him a Pokémon like that was a good idea.

He could hear Anubis slithering behind him as he moved through the hallway. Finally spotting his target in the main lobby, he came to a stop right in front of the man. Arms crossed and fists clenched, he tried to calm down before he insulted one of the most powerful trainers on the planet.

Bruno simply watched, eyes snapping towards Anubis before they went to the Pokéball in Ash's hand. "Oh."

"Yes." He snarled out. "Exactly. Whose bright idea was it to pair me with a Trapinch?"

Ash loved all dragon types. His problem had nothing to do with the Pokémon itself, but the team he already had. Heck, he adored the Trapinch line, and knew just how dangerous a Flygon could be in a battle. The problem was, Sandile like Anubis were known to snack on another desert Pokémon. Their favorite treat?

Trapinch.

Something about the orange Pokémon made Sandile go wild, turning on them even if they belonged to the same trainer. It was impossible for one trainer to have both without the Trapinch getting eaten. Even Lance, the Dragon Master, hadn't been able to handle both. There were rumors that he had taken it as a challenge five years prior and had gotten his hands on a Trapinch as well as a Sandile. They had lasted for a week before the Sandile was given away and the other ground type disappeared. Technically, no one knew what happened, but if he had to take a guess, he'd say that he knew exactly where the Trapinch had ended up. In the Sandile's stomach.

Which was why he was so upset. If Lance, Kanto's Champion, couldn't do it with all of his knowledge and training, then how was he supposed to cope? He loved dragons and was furious that they would put one in his care, knowing that it would most likely die.

"Look kid, there's no one else that can take it. You want to be a dragon trainer? That means dealing with the good and bad side of them." Bruno told him, glancing over when Anubis opened his jaw, as if to bite the fighting type trainer.

Ash shot that down with a look to the Pokémon. "If I didn't have Anubis, then maybe, but I can't just-"

Bruno stared him down. "You're telling me you can't control your own Pokémon."

No one could control a Sandile when it came to trying to get between it and its prey. He had a deeper bond with Anubis, but until he evolved, there was no stopping him. While he would gain the control not to chew on his teammates, he would become more bloodthirsty and effected by Moxie more easily.

The only thing he could possibly do is to help Anubis evolve as quickly as possible and never have him and the Trapinch, Viridios, out at the same time. Anubis wasn't far from evolving. It would happen soon, along with possibly a few others. If he could, he would leave the Trapinch with Professor Oak until Anubis evolved. If he could, he would make sure the two of them weren't even in the same city.

From the dismissive look that Bruno had given him, he knew that he didn't have a choice. He would have to find a way to make this work on his own. He glanced down at Anubis with a sigh. "You'd turn the Trapinch into a chew toy." He muttered darkly, watching as the croc seemed to lick his lips. "Great. Just great."

He knew the speech, the usual one about having more than six Pokémon, and how it was an honor and a service for the league. He knew that he would only have to put up with being overwhelmed for another fourteen days. That was it. Then, he would have three choices. If any of the Pokémon could not be rehabilitated or stabilized, he had to report it to the league, and they would put it down. If they could be, he had a responsibility to keep the less emotionally stable Pokémon with him until they passed an assessment in four months' time. If one of them maimed one of his other Pokémon, it would be put down. Professor Oak would be able to keep an eye on the others, seeing as he was a licensed Pokémon Professor.

Once Ash had five gym badges, he would be responsible for ten Pokémon at a time, seeing as he was doing this service for the league now. Until then, he would be able to have six, under normal circumstances. But he didn't have normal circumstances because of Anubis. He would have seven of them with him at all times.

He would need to assess the team, especially the new Pokémon, and hope that they could all heal. He really didn't want them, but he also didn't want them to be killed because of the trauma they had suffered.

He let out a long sigh and headed to the waiting room to find a place to sit down. He would need to meet the newest member of his team, but not right now. Right now, he needed to make sure that the rest of his team understood the strain they would be under. There would always be someone watching to make sure he didn't fall into the habit of abuse that extremely stressed trainers sometimes caved to.

Before this mess, if any of his Pokémon snapped, it could be ignored the first time. They would have a second chance. Now, if any of them acted out, the league would have them under fire faster than he could blink. There was an extra pressure that both he and his Pokémon would be under, until they could prove that they wouldn't break.

So, he thought, sitting heavily on a chair, fourteen days. Two short weeks until his life could go back to normal. Or, almost normal. As little as he wanted to, he knew that he should get the assessment started soon.

It was a stupid, mostly useless process in his eyes. The trainer would have to find a way to gain the respect of the Pokémon, while trying a combination of things to help them start to grieve. It was more of an emotionally intensive plan, and with Pokémon, especially his, it wouldn't work.

Still, he would give it a chance. He had no idea what he was doing, or how to deal with other people's grief. Heck, if they had asked Gary, he would have just laughed at them. He was emotionally constipated, and could barely understand his own, let alone anyone else's.

Besides that, he really didn't want the Trapinch, Viridios, to become pokèfood for Anubis.

With a long sigh, he headed out of the center and towards the beaches he knew were hiding behind the buildings in Cerulean. Anubis trailed easily behind him, making people scatter and back away as effectively as Barastyr did. He could fully admit that he had a weakness for dark types as well as Dragons.

As little as he wanted to think about it, he wondered how his newest team members battled. Nephthys still wasn't fully healed, but the others were. Would any of them even want to battle? Would any of them be able to listen to him, to trust him to know what decision was best for them and the team as a whole?

Anubis would overtake the rest of them as his best battler, with Oceanius coming in second. Barastyr the third most powerful of his team, only barely surpassing Silvanus. That was just the team he knew. His team had doubled, now. The others were unknown. He hoped that they would want to battle, to get stronger until something like this could never happen again under their watch, but he wasn't sure. Trauma affected everyone a little differently. It didn't help that he had never met any of his new additions before their original trainer was killed. He had no idea how much of their personalities were because of the trauma, and how much was simply them.

If he wanted to get through the shells that they were now, he needed to find a way to get the fire burning in their eyes. He refused to believe that they were broken beyond repair. They were suffering, they were hurting, but they wouldn't be forever. Barastyr would be able to help more than the others, except maybe Silvanus.

He hadn't forgotten where Silvanus came from. He hadn't forgotten how lucky he was that the Gible was starting to gain independence and a sense of humor. Every time he saw the small dragon's back, he was reminded that Silvanus had a harder life than anyone knew. Ash had no idea what the Pokémon had seen through his life, but he had helped, slowly but surely, pull the Pokémon out of his shell.

Ash had no doubt that Silvanus would be crucial to the healing of the others. Assuming that Silvanus would be able to reach them, that is.

He hoped that by helping his Pokémon become strong, they would be able to avoid the helplessness that they were now drowning in. He understood better than he would ever admit to, the utter hopelessness that his Pokémon were suffering from. Unlike them, it was so entrenched in his personality that he doubted it would ever go away.

This helped, being by the ocean, watching the waves crash into the beach. He always put more pressure on himself than anyone else ever could. He couldn't help blaming everything on himself. Even though he knew that there was nothing else he could have done in Mt. Moon, he still wondered if maybe he could have done something, anything, to get help there faster. If he had turned around when he first entered, if he had moved faster, if he was smarter.

He tapped Oceanius' Pokéball with one hand, while releasing Nephthys with the other. Both Pokémon formed, falling slightly into the waves of the ocean. He had done what he could and had several new Pokémon because of it. He also had one old friend back that he never thought he would see again.

Oceanius trumpeted contently, diving under the waves, while Nephthys bobbed along like a log, laughing a trilling sound whenever a wave dunked her. He glanced behind him, fighting back a laugh of his own. Anubis was almost fully submerged in the sand. Only his eyes stuck out, giving away his position to someone who knew what to look for. He had no doubt that if anyone was stupid enough to get near him, Anubis would bite at their ankles. How much of his powerful jaw he would use would depend on the level of a threat that the person posed.

Still, the three of them were starting to relax, even if only slightly. He considered the rest of his team for a moment. Barastyr would hate having sand in his fur. There was no way he would let Viridios out when Anubis was in hunter mode, that was just asking for trouble. The Larvitar, Icelos, might have some fun on the sand. But no, letting out a rock type that close to the water was just a stupid move. Maybe the Axew, Hades, or the Bagon, Megara. He considered them for a few more seconds before deciding against it. He really didn't want to deal with territorial dragons right now. That left the youngest member of his team, Cleffa.

While most Cleffa were on a nocturnal schedule, he had noticed that the littlest of the group had no problem being awake in the room. Besides that, Eris would need a lot of attention and a strong bond with her trainer in order to evolve into a strong, elegant Clefairy. He hadn't really interacted with her yet, and hopefully, she would be able to relax a bit on her own. His other Pokémon would probably leave him alone with the little star. She had only been with Xander for a few hours before he had died. She was still traumatized, but she probably wasn't as attached to the other trainer as Icelos was.

He hesitated, letting himself fall down on the sand. He wasn't sure how well he could support her or the others. He needed help, and that meant that he needed Professor Oak. He would call the older man later. Hopefully, the professor could help walk him through what he needed to do in order to help the others.

Wait.

Megara and Hades were dragons. He knew how to handle dragons better than any other type. If they went crazy, Oceanius and Anubis could take them down. He pulled his Pokènav out, double checking their levels compared to the rest of his team. Supposedly, Hades was around level seventeen, a little bit behind Barastyr who was at level eighteen according to the Nav. Megara was closer to Nephthys' level, at fifteen. Oceanius had been his strongest, just reaching level twenty- two, before he lost his spot to Anubis at level twenty-five. They would have no trouble subduing Megara and Hades if they needed to.

Besides, dragon types needed a rival in order to continue pushing themselves forward. If there was one thing both Anubis and Oceanius were good at, it was antagonizing others. They would need a fight, one that pushed them to their limit, and kept pushing. Then, they would need to lay out in the sun with another dragon, maybe two, when they couldn't fight anymore. Then, they would want to eat, and sleep. Probably in a dragon pile. If he bribed Barastyr, his starter would, grudgingly, snuggle with the others. Silvanus would be ecstatic to cuddle with other dragons. Depending on her mood, Nephthys might join them, or just from somewhere above them.

Oceanius and Anubis would be thankful for the quiet.

He may not know how to help the Larvitar and Cleffa, but he could work with the dragons.

It was funny, in a dark way, that he had ended up with a Cleffa, even though he wasn't looking for one. He now had the same Pokémon that both of his parents had. He knew the species well, as Star, his mother's Clefable, had been around his entire life. He may not be a fan of most fairy types, but he couldn't help but learn about the Pokémon that had been around him for longer than he could remember.

He supposed he could ask his mother for tips on how to deal with Cleffa. No, he wouldn't do that. She had made it clear that his place in her life was better if he didn't exist. He could use what he knew about the species to his advantage. After, of course, he was done with Axew and Bagon.

Hopefully, he could find a couple of good, rough battles in hopes of pushing Anubis into evolving. He was starting to take on a golden glow, instead of the sandy color that Sandile were known for. If he could do that, Anubis was probably a week or so away from becoming a Krokorok. Either Silvanus or Oceanius would be the second of his Pokémon to evolve, but Anubis would definitely be the first. It was almost funny. All but two, maybe three, of his Pokémon would be fully evolved with Barastyr finally evolved from a Deino into a Zweilous, and he would be the so far behind when it came to evolving into a Hydreigon. Still, when it finally happened, Bara would be practically unbeatable by regular trainers.

He took a deep breath, whistling sharply to catch his Pokémon's attention. Oceanius popped his head up, out of the waves, while Anubis shook off the sand from his head. Nephthys, as little as she wanted to seem like she was listening, turned her head slightly.

"I'm letting out two of the Pokémon that we got from the league. They're both dragons, a Bagon named Megara and an Axew named Hades. We want to make them feel welcome, but they are likely to be angry, and probably violent. If they go into a rage, I'm trusting you guys to knock some sense into them. Neither of them has wanted to interact with me, and normally, I would give them as much time as they need. But, we only have two weeks, and I have a feeling that their need to fight is gone. They need some help getting it back. Oceanius, you've got whichever one gets near the water. Anubis, keep them nearby, but let them stretch their legs if they want to. Keep an eye on them, and make sure they don't lose their minds, okay?"

This wouldn't work on a Pokémon like Nephthys, who simply wanted to be left alone. But most dragons? If one of them didn't go into a rage within the first minute of being let out, Ash would eat his shoe.

Carefully, he pushed back his coat, pulling off both Pokéballs at the same time. For most types, it was best to deal with them one on one, but not Dragons. Dragons, most of them, were pack creatures and respond better if they had someone that they trusted nearby. If this worked, he would withdraw both of his current fighters, switch them for Bara, who would be eternally grumpy if he got sand on his coat, and Silvanus so that they could bask in the sunlight. He might, might, let out the Trapinch, if Anubis had calmed down enough after the fight. If not, then he would wait another day before introducing himself to his newest team member.

He considered getting up, but he didn't want to intimidate the Pokémon. They wouldn't trust him if he accidently looked down on them. Instead, he forced himself to relax and let the two Pokémon form, at the same time, on the beach. Megara was small for a Bagon, both young and petite, with dark eyes and blue scales that glittered in the sunlight. Hades on the other hand was much wider, more muscular, and more bloodthirsty. As soon as he saw the glint in Hades' eyes, he knew he had been right.

The Axew roared at him, pitiful compared to Anubis, and charged at the seated trainer. He had only gotten a few steps in before he was sinking in a hole that Anubis had opened in his path. The Sandile jumped out of the sand, smirking at the dragon type.

That was enough to get Megara into the fray, launching herself at Anubis. Thankfully, Oceanius had reached the end of his patience and launched a water gun at the Bagon, trumpeting angrily to catch her attention.

The message was clear. Neither Oceanius nor Anubis would allow them to attack their trainer. It wouldn't be enough to keep them under control, but it was a start. Neither Megara or Hades were used to battling a constantly moving Oceanius or an impossible to find Anubis, but Oceanius had mostly fought overly confident dragons. He knew how they thought.

Ash glanced around, making sure that Nephthys was out of sight. She was, of course, hidden in the depths of the shallows. As long as Hades and Megara weren't aware that she was hiding, they wouldn't think to attack her.

He winced as he caught sight of Hades trapped in a brutal sand tomb and Megara getting blasted by a strangely impressive bubble beam. Oceanius had improved a lot from their first fight. Megara sent an impressive ember at Oceanius, even if he was able to block it easily. She used the steam to hide her next attack, a Dragon Breath, if he wasn't mistaken. Clever girl.

The attack hit Oceanius, blowing him back into the water, but it wasn't strong enough to knock him out. Oceanius sent another water gun towards her, this time not holding back. It was strong enough to send her flying a few feet back.

Meanwhile, Anubis was playing with his prey, never able to get rid of the hunters' instincts that made his species one of the deadliest. Sand Tomb was nothing compared to the strength of his jaws in a mighty crunch. Hades' armor didn't stand a chance, but the Axew wasn't done yet. Hades sent a duel chop toward Anubis, before switching easily to a night slash. Both attacks hit Anubis, who grunted growing irritated with the fight.

Once more, he caught Hades within his jaws, not biting down, but simply holding him still. Ash's eyes moved to Oceanius, who had, somehow, created a ditch and trapped the Bagon in it, continuously filling it with water so that the dragon couldn't swim its way out.

Ash whistled again, loud and piercing, making the Pokémon freeze. "That's enough. I think they've learned their lesson, guys." It was true. Megara looked exhausted, soaked, and miserable, but not badly hurt. Hades wasn't even bleeding, which meant that Anubis had taken it easy on the small dragon. The croc spat Hades towards Megara, who leapt out now that she was no longer being weighed down in the water.

Both Oceanius and Anubis tensed, waiting to see what the outsiders would do. The dragons looked at each other, then at the one they had been fighting, before, finally, their heads dropped in a slight bow towards Ash. He let out the breath that he had been holding and relaxed slightly. Once a Bagon pledged its loyalty to a trainer, they wouldn't listen to another as long as their trainer lived.

Axew were more flighty, but Hades wouldn't stray as long as Megara was loyal to him.

He nodded, more to himself than to the dragon duo. They had done good, better than Nephthys could have. Still, he thought with a small frown. He returned Anubis, glad that the croc was finally relaxed enough to let himself rest and sent out his other three dragons. Barastyr immediately moved into a protective position on the left, while Silvanus took the right. Trapinch simply blinked at them.

"Its fine guys. I thought you might want to warm up for a bit." His words seemed to work on Silvanus, but Barastyr wasn't convinced. Not in the slightest. His head never turned away from the Trapinch, sensing that it was more of a threat than the other two. Ash could feel it too. There was something not quite right about the orange desert dweller. Trapinch were never considered the smartest of the dragon species, but they were generally harmless until they gained their dragon typing. This one… this one wasn't.

It watched him with an intelligence that he hadn't ever seen in a Trapinch, before it cackled. Ash watched incredulously as it dove into the sand, disappearing in a split second. It seemed to go after Megara first, as she fell into a sand trap that had the Trapinch waiting at the bottom with his jaws wide open. It wanted to eat the other Pokémon, or at the very least, it wanted to dismember them.

Silvanus, Barastyr, and Oceanius all shot into action. Barastyr pulled Megara from the trap, Silvanus buried himself in the sand, more than willing to play that game if it was what the other Pokémon wanted. Oceanius was on top of the trap, sending water attack after water attack to try and knock out the Trapinch. Ash's hand hovered over Anubis' Pokéball, considering the consequences of letting him deal with this. But no, his other Pokémon had it. Both Megara and Hades had backed out of the way, letting his other three deal with their insane new teammate.

He looked around the beach, trying to spot where Silvanus had gone off to, before noticing that they had apparently gotten a good bit of attention that they didn't need. What they did need was to hurry this up before someone called the Sensational Sisters about a psychotic Trapinch.

"Oceanius, back up. Barastyr, freeze the water around Viridios. Silvanus, get ready." He wasn't about to draw this out. He wanted to finish it, and Silvanus would have no problem doing just that.

The ice was weak, and honestly, Viridios would have been able to break out in less than a minute had Silvanus not come up under him and shown him what his jaws could do. It had only taken about three minutes for his team to subdue the Trapinch, but it was three minutes too long. It was time to go. He recalled Viridios, Oceanius, Megara, Hades and Silvanus, whistling for Nephthys to come up now that it was safe. As soon as she broke the surface, he recalled her as well, leaving him with only Barastyr by his side.

He glanced around and sighed. The beach was a mess. He could leave it, but it was honestly just faster to fix it himself. He picked up Barastyr and released Anubis. "Smooth it out, Anubis." He commanded quietly. The Sandile glared at Barastyr, who was content in Ash's arms, but did as he asked with a sand tomb. That was all it took to fill in the holes they had left on the beach. Easy.

He withdrew Anubis again, and headed back towards the town.

If only he was so lucky.

Someone started clapping slowly, as if he had just put on a show. The crowd parted, leaving a single teenage girl standing there. Her long indigo hair was tied back in a high ponytail, while her eyes, the color of rubies, stared him down. She was dressed in workout clothes, a pair of white shorts and a yellow tank top. Everything about her screamed delicate flower, except for the glint in her eyes that showed her true power.

She was far from a weak, helpless beauty.

Ash recognized her instantly from a few days prior. The second oldest Sensational Sister had arrived, and Violet was absolutely furious.

He wondered if he could possibly find a way to ditch her, but he knew it was impossible. The sisters seemed to know where everyone was at all times. She was the most feminine of the sisters, but also the most ferocious when it came to both personality as well as in battle. She and her Empoleon were impossible to beat for most trainers.

Ash knew he was completely screwed.


	9. Chapter 9

To everyone that was wondering, not everyone hates Ash. Some hate his Pokémon and take it out on him, some are more wary than threatening. It just depends on the trainer. Remember, he started with one of the most vicious Dark/ Dragon types in the world, and that intrigues as many people as it intimidates.

Now, for the list:

Barastyr- Deino

Oceanius- Horsea

Nephthys- Dratini

Silvanus- Gible

Anubis- Sandile

Icelos- Larvitar

Megara- Bagon

Hades- Axew

Eris/ Pandora- Cleffa

Viridios- Trapinch

* * *

He was sitting in a cold, mostly dark room. His only source of light was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. The only items in the room was the light, two chairs, one of which he was sitting on, and a small table. The presence of an ice type nearby made the air cooler than it should have been.

He hadn't been captured by Rockets. No, if that was the case, he would have blasted out of there by now. This was far worse.

He was in a room hidden under Cerulean City Gym. And he was in so much trouble.

It had been around four hours since Violet had found him on the beach, trying to beat down a Trapinch of all things. It didn't matter that no one had gotten hurt. It didn't matter that the terrain had been torn up thanks mostly to Sand Tomb, courtesy of Anubis. It didn't even matter that he had let out some of his new team members on a public beach where anyone could have gotten hurt.

No. None of that mattered at all. What mattered was that his little show had interrupted Violet's run and had forced her to wake up her sisters to deal with him.

Was this going too far for something so minor? Definitely. Was he stupid enough to complain about it? Nope. He wanted to see his next birthday, thank you very much. They were trying to intimidate him, without doing or saying anything. They weren't even in the room.

He could, grumpily, admit that it was almost working, if only because he was so freaking bored. He was less than two minutes away from simply letting Viridios out to wreak havoc on the gym. Not out of malice, but just so he had something to do.

Any other gym leader would have just chewed him out by now, but not the Sensational Sisters. He honestly thought that Violet had forgotten about him by now, or she and her sisters had gone back to sleep. It was possible, probable even. They were the laziest of the Kanto Gym Leaders, besides maybe Erika.

It didn't help that there were three of them all splitting one job. There had been rumors of a fourth sister, younger than the others, who wanted to take over the gym for herself, but he hadn't heard anything new about the runt of the family.

Not that he had been listening for it.

He sighed in boredom once again, before finally standing up and stretching his legs. He walked around the room a few times, testing the level of stiffness in his feet. The first few steps made him stumble a bit. He had to catch himself on the wall, shoulder burning as the scar tissue pulled too far. His legs ached, in the pins and needles stage now that he was standing.

It only took a few more seconds before the sensation died down. He was basically done waiting around. It took a few steps to reach the door, and he turned the handle, hoping that they were as airheaded as everyone said they were.

It didn't budge.

He had a couple of ways that he could get out, including having Silvanus simply knock the door down with his tail or Oceanius blowing off the knob with a burst of water. Sadly, property damage was a thing. He knelt down in front of the lock and reached into one of the pockets hidden in his coat.

With a practiced ease that held a stupid amount of memories, he pulled out a small, thin, black case. He unzipped it with practically no effort and got to work.

When he had been younger, around seven or so, he and Gary had been obsessed with spy movies. Jon Bomb and his sleek Delcatty named Diamond had stolen their attention for months. It got to the point where both boys wanted to learn how to pick locks and practiced any time they could.

By the time he and Gary had fallen out, Gary was especially good at getting out of handcuffs, and he could crack most locked door in a matter of a minute. Their friendship may have faded, but Ash had never forgotten the skill. He had honed it until he could unlock a door in seconds.

Sure enough, it clicked open with a small twist of his wrist. He fought back a smile at the thought. Ash had no doubt that he was being watched, probably by the sisters, in a form of entertainment. He would never have the finesse of Jon Bomb, but he wasn't supposed to.

The door swung open easily, and he started walking again, passed the dark hallways that the sister's most likely used to intimidate people, and back towards where he knew the elevator was. He could have snooped around. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be outside of the public rooms in a gym.

Sadly, all Ash wanted to do was go back to the beach and think.

The doors to the elevator closed with a final snick. The sound made him hesitate, but the elevator was already moving. It was too late to back out now. Besides, he was fairly certain they wouldn't beat him down too badly. He didn't have a gym badge yet, so they wouldn't use their real teams on him. Probably.

When the doors opened on a random floor, one that he hadn't pushed the button to, he felt himself freeze. Daisy, Violet, and Lily all sat on a plush aqua colored couch that was facing the elevator. Each girl had their starters behind them.

Yep, he was so dead.

None of the girls, or their starters, looked happy to see him. He wasn't particularly pleased to see them either.

"Where did you screw up?" Daisy asked, leaning on her palms as she watched him. Her Blastoise stared him down, moving its shoulder cannons so that they were aimed at him.

Ash paused at that. "Wait, what?"

The sisters exchanged looks, none of them seemingly happy with his answer. "You had four hours to think it through, and you still haven't figured it out." Daisy's glare hardened, reminding him that these weren't just airheads, but powerful Pokémon trainers.

Violet sighed at him, her head falling back against the back of the couch. Her Empoleon stood behind her, watching him closely. "You screwed up big time on the beach, Ash." She told him, "Usually, we would just ignore it, but your little screw up could have gotten someone else killed."

The third sister lounged while her Feraligator ran a clawed hand through her hair. "Here's a hint. What level is Trapinch?"

Ash's mouth immediately opened to answer, before snapping closed. He had checked the levels of the other four, but he hadn't thought to see where Viridios was compared to the others. He had only gotten to the species name before he had raged out of the room, horrified that Bruno had given him a Trapinch of all things. Fear and worry had taken over rational thought. There was no way he would have let a dragon die in his care, yet the Elite Four Member had given him a Pokémon that normally would have been nothing more than a snack for Anubis.

He pulled his Pokènav out of his pocket and flicked it open. It took him less than a minute to see the information that should have been imprinted in his brain before he released the Trapinch. His eyes widened. It was a beast at level twenty-eight.

No wonder his team had so much trouble with it. Oceanius was the third strongest then, a full six levels beneath where Trapinch was. Barastyr was a full ten levels lower, and Silvanus was 12 below the other ground type.

Viridios might have struggled against Anubis, and having Oceanius out helped, but the others were too weak.

He smacked himself on the forehead. It had never occurred to him that there was a reason they had passed Viridios to a dragon trainer instead of just anyone. He felt like an idiot. The worst part was that he should have noticed the information that morning when he had looked up what kind of Pokémon he had been given. It was on the exact same page, and right next to where Viridios's name was.

There was no excuse for not paying attention to something like that. It was pure stupidity on his part. It was a mistake that could have been deadly, and one he would take care never to repeat.

"You're right." He said easily, closing his Pokènav and putting it back in his pocket. "I should have noticed earlier. Trapinch could have seriously hurt one of the others, especially if he had gone after Nephthys. I assumed that it would be like most Trapinch and didn't think that he wouldn't have very much aggression. I should have handled it like I did Megara and Hades."

The three of them exchanged looks again, some of the aggravation leaking out of their forms. "Fine. You won't make the same mistake twice." That was a threat if Ash had ever heard one, especially from Violet.

He nodded, ducking his head so that his face was hidden by his hat.

"Misty! Come show our visitor back to the main arena." Lily called easily.

Ash turned slightly, not even noticing the fourth girl who had entered the room from a side entrance. She had orange hair tied to the side, bright green eyes, and was clearly younger than the others. The oldest sister had to be around eighteen. This one was probably a little older than he was.

She was frozen, watching him in a sense of disbelief. Suddenly, she surged forward, shoving him harshly. "You!" She snarled wildly. Her eyes were burning in a vicious fire. "How dare you show your face here after what you did!"

He backed up a few steps, hands raised in surrender. He didn't want a fight. He wasn't sure who she was, but she clearly knew him. "I don't know you, but you might want to back off. My Pokémon are fairly protective."

That was putting it lightly. Barastyr would want to tear her hands off. He didn't even want to think about what Anubis would do if he knew.

She got further in his space, raising a fist to punch him, before Anubis had decided that enough was enough. The Sandile roared as he released himself, moving quicker than usual to shove the girl away from his trainer.

Ash glanced towards the older trainers, hoping that they could help him make some sense out of this. They were just watching, all three considering something.

The orange haired girl backed up slightly when Anubis snapped his jaws next to her legs but didn't seem deterred. "You ruined my life! You're a stupid coward!"

Ash's eyebrows shot up. "I've never met you before." He said, trying to keep his voice calm. If Anubis sensed any distress from him, he would attack. That was just how the Sandile species worked.

"You're the reason Starmie can't battle! How do you not remember that?" She screamed, trying to get in his face again. "The Gyarados on route one, remember that?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. Now that she mentioned it, he had seen her fishing the day he got Barastyr. When the Gyarados had burst out of the water with Nephthys in its jaws, the girl had tried to fight it off. "I assumed you knew what you were doing when you tried to fight it, instead of running like a sane person." He said slowly. "I won't make that mistake again."

"You left me with a Gyarados!"

"It was my first day!" He finally shouted back, all the anger and irritation from the last few days bubbling out of him. "I had all of two Pokémon, who were both exhausted from fighting all day. There was no way either of them would have been able to do anything!"

He hated thinking about it, but he knew he was right. As bad as he felt for leaving the girl behind, he had assumed she was a competent trainer if she tried to take a Gyarados head on. Neither Oceanius or Barastyr would have been able to do more than tickle the Pokémon, and Nephthys almost died from her wounds from it.

He had saved Nephthys, but that was all he could do. As much as he hated to think about it, it was her own fault if her Pokémon got hurt. She should have known better than to fight a Gyarados without being prepared for it.

The Starmie had been an impressive specimen. If Misty couldn't guide it to victory, it was her fault. Not his, or Starmie's.

"Just back off." He said flatly. He didn't want to fight her, he just wanted to be left alone. Anubis, he knew, wouldn't let the girl get away with screaming at his trainer for much longer. He didn't want to hurt her, and he refused to lift a hand to her, in spite of the fact that she, apparently, was more than ready to hurt him. Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

Anubis roared his agreement. He didn't want a fight after the week he had. He just wanted a nap, and possibly a quick taste of the Trapinch he knew his boy was hiding in one of the red and white spheres. If he wanted to nap on his boy, well, that was his prerogative. If anyone said anything, he would bite them.

Misty raised a hand again, ready to slap him across the face. Anubis wasn't having it. With dexterity that the Sandile family was known for, he jumped up and grabbed her arm in between his jaws. He was careful not to bite down on the other human, but gravity would have done the work for him.

Ash reacted quickly, grabbing Anubis midair with a curse. As a baby Sandile, it had been easy to hold him, but now he was fully grown. Almost forty pounds, and three and a half feet long, he was larger than the average Sandile.

Still, he didn't let Anubis fall. If he had, Misty's entire arm would have been torn off.

His eyes moved to Anubis' as he held him gently. "Bud, let go."

Anubis growled a warning out. He wasn't a fan of being held anymore. He would hurt his trainer accidentally if he moved too quickly.

Ash snorted, ignoring the screaming of Misty and her sisters. "Let her go, Anubis. She won't touch me. I promise. I'm safe now."

The Sandile looked at his trainer, watching his eyes to make sure he was telling the truth. While he still didn't feel safe with his trainer around these people, Anubis reluctantly let go of the banshee.

She was bleeding in at least a dozen places, but he hadn't bit down hard enough to cause actual damage to the human. Anubis simply wanted her to leave his human alone. If he wanted to do actual damage, her arm would have been in his stomach by now.

The sisters surrounded their youngest, each watching Anubis with cautious looks. After checking her over, they had to admit that the Pokémon was being extremely kind to her. It would have taken no effort for him to snap her arm in his powerful jaws.

Misty was pushed behind the others, like a scolded puppy. Ash just watched impassively with Sandile making sure no one got too close.

"You know, there's easier ways to settle something between trainers." Daisy told her youngest sister, eyes promising pain to Misty.

All things considered, Anubis would have every right to defend his trainer from what he saw as a threat, especially after the girl hit him the first time. Any of their Pokémon would have reacted the same way, except they wouldn't have held back. They would have worked to take out the threat. Permanently. They were extremely lucky it was Anubis who decided to deal with their idiot of a sister, instead of Ash's starter. Sandile rarely held back. Deino didn't know how to.

Ash kept himself quiet, knowing that speaking to them was a useless task. Especially the youngest of the sisters. She wanted to blame him for her stupidity and wouldn't be convinced of anything else. Ash wanted to bang his head against the wall. He knew exactly what Daisy was suggesting, and also knew it was a bad idea.

This would only be settled in a battle, but he wasn't ready for a fight against a stronger trainer. Four of his Pokémon were at least partly ground type, so they would get hit extra hard by the water. Of the remaining six, one couldn't battle, Nephthys, one was too young, Cleffa, two weren't his for an entire twenty-four hours yet. Only two of his teams would be able to fight, Oceanius and Barastyr. While Oceanius would probably be alright, none of his hits would be extremely effective, but that wasn't saying anything of Barastyr yet. He knew his starter was growing but Ash wasn't sure that he was ready. Not yet.

Barastyr and Anubis would want to fight, but they couldn't. However, if they wanted a three on three fight...

He could set Viridios on Misty. He fought back a mischievous smile. Sure, the Pokémon would be extremely weak to water type attacks, but what he lacked in defenses, he made up for in sheer vicious destruction. Even if he lost, Viridios would get a harsh lesson in reality. If he won, then Ash would work with Oceanius until he could keep the Trapinch in check.

"Fine." Misty agreed loudly, snapping his attention back to the orange haired girl. "We'll fight in the morning. Four on four."

He frowned at that but nodded. This was what he deserved for getting lost in his own head. He would wait until later to see which Pokémon he would use in the fight. Recognizing that as the dismissal he knew it was, he backed into the elevator, and pressed the button for the lobby, waiting for Anubis to crawl in beside him before letting the doors come to a close.

As soon as he was alone, he returned Anubis, and leaned heavily against the wall. Some days just weren't worth getting up for.

He exited the gym in an almost mechanical way, pausing as the sun warmed his skin. He shook off the wave of hopelessness. He still had a few hours before sunset, and he wanted to introduce himself properly to Cleffa, Larvitar, and Trapinch. He also needed to have Nephthys checked out properly, just to make sure she was healing correctly.

He also wouldn't say no to a battle or two against a few idiots. That decided, he headed north, towards route 24. The Nugget Bridge would be a good place to release some tension. He couldn't go very far, but it was something.

The buildings faded away, leaving only mountain ranges to the east, heavy forests to the west, and trainers to beat in the north. He loved that about traveling. Any direction he went, a new adventure waited for him. There were always Pokémon around to beat, and trainers who were more than slightly cocky that needed a reality check.

He sighed heavily, twisting in his cloak slightly, and headed to the thick forests instead. As much as he wanted to battle, he needed to meet his new teammates more. He hated being responsible. But, admittedly, it was strangely relaxing to be able to walk through the forest on his own.

He glanced around, spotting several bug types that chittered quietly as he encroached on their territory. Nothing seemed violent, thankfully. He walked until he couldn't see anything but the forest in every direction.

A weight lifted off of his shoulders as he shrugged off his bag, letting it rest against a tree. It was time. He gently released Oceanius, catching the Pokémon in his arms as he formed.

Oceanius trumpeted quietly, butting his chin in greeting. Ash smiled down at the Pokémon. He needed this, and Oceanius knew it. They stayed still for a little bit, just basking in the silence. After a few minutes, Ash sat down next to his bag and pulled out his grooming supplies for the Horsea, a rough brush that would get rid of any old scales, a tin of water resistant polish, and a cloth to shine his scales with.

The Pokémon trumpeted in triumph when he saw what his trainer had grabbed. Out of his Pokémon, Oceanius liked to be groomed the most, even if he didn't really need it. Nephthys liked it the least, while Silvanus and Barastyr seemed fine with it, but they didn't really care either way.

He smiled softly. "I'm gonna have to let out Cleffa, Larvitar, and Trapinch again. I need to make sure that they are as okay as they can be. Trapinch got beaten up a bit earlier, but the other two should be okay. Do you mind helping me if they get out of hand?"

Yes, Oceanius was weaker than Viridios, but he was also stronger in a type match up. Until the small orange Pokémon gained his dragon typing, he would be extremely weak to the insanely protective Oceanius. Besides, Oceanius probably had a bit of a grudge towards Viridios because the Trapinch had interrupted his peace that morning.

The gleam in Oceanius's red eyes told him he was right. They had been unprepared this morning but know they both knew what they were in for. Ash rolled his eyes as the look, but dutifully cleaned and polished Oceanius's scales until they shined in the scattered sunlight.

Once he was done, he put Oceanius down to his side and sat cross legged. Cleffa, Eris, he reminded himself, would need a softer approach than his dragons did. All fairies did. The Cleffa line was especially needy when it came to the emotions they had to get from their trainers. The Igglybuff family was the most independent of the Kanto fairies. The Happiny line was the hardiest. The Cleffa line, though, was one of the most challenging to get along with. They could be sweet, innocent creatures, or they could be grudge holding, sometimes cruel Pokémon.

He knew this line better than any of the other fairies, if only because of Star, his mother's Clefable, and his father's Clefable. Granted, neither of them was particularly sweet. They were both vicious and seemed to hate him, Star more than Clefable, but it rang true for both of them. He had considered getting one himself but had dismissed the thought at Mt. Moon. The fact that he came out of the mountain with one anyways was both vexing and hilarious.

Still, how they grew up depended not only on how the trainer raised them, but also on how they interacted with another Pokémon.

Which, funny enough, was one of the reasons he decided that Oceanius should be the one with him. He hoped that the regal standoffish Horsea would be able to lower his defenses a little bit around the baby fairy. Oceanius needed an ally, and hopefully, that would be Eris.

He glanced at Oceanius, waiting for a nod from the small Horsea, before easily sending out Eris. She formed quickly, looking around for the other Pokémon that she had started to bond with. Instead, she found the trainer who received her Pokéball, and a Horsea. Cleffa's dark eyes glinted with darkness as she watched them. She had agreed to go with the other trainer, not this one.

"Hey there Eris." Ash said gently, not bothering to reach out to her yet. She wouldn't let him, even if he tried. He wasn't worthy to touch her.

She did not like that the human was calling her by that name. It didn't fit her, and she had only grudgingly agreed to the name from the other boy in hopes that it would grow on her. She took a deep breath and sent out an icy wind at the boy.

It made him shiver, but it wasn't enough to actually hurt him. He did get the message loud and clear though. She didn't like that name. She didn't want him calling her that.

"Alright princess, I get it. Do you want to go by Cleffa then?" Ash said slowly, raising his hand in surrender.

She gave him a dark glare and blew out another Icy Wind. Why would she want that? She was special and wanted everyone to know it.

That one was a little colder, making frost creep up Ash's sleeves. "A different name then. Alright. What about Estelle?"

She glared harder, making it clear what she thought about it. She hadn't even agreed to keep this trainer as hers yet.

"Daphne? Eilionoir? Hella?" He tried to find something she was alright with. The last one made her tilt her head, considering. After a few more moments, an idea budded in his brain. "Pandora?"

She trilled quietly. She liked that one more than the name the other trainer gave her. Pandora watched the boy silently, her black eyes on his golden ones. She seemed to look into his very soul, and grudgingly agreed to herself that she would stay for now.

"Pandora?" He paused, waiting for her to deny the name, before nodding. "Alright. It's nice to finally meet you, Pandora. I'm Ash and this is Oceanius. I want to be a dragon master. That does mean that I'll have to have someone to help me keep them all in line. Interested?"

She watched him. She would get to beat up dragons with this trainers blessing? She could do that. Especially the arrogant Horsea next to the, now her, trainer. It would take a while for her to become strong enough to do anything, but she could just imagine it, Pandora, ruler of dragons.

Pandora liked that idea and decided that she likes her trainer for giving it to her. She moved over to him and had an idea. She ignored the human's arms as she climbed, going straight to his shoulder before stopping. The head thing was in her way. She batted it off of her throne and continued her ascent. Once she stopped, she was on her trainer's head, looking down at the mere mortals from the tallest place on her trainer. This was her throne.

It was soft, fluffy, and all hers. She would freeze anyone stupid enough to try and steal her throne.

Oceanius seemed offended on Ash's behalf, but the trainer himself just chuckled. This was probably the easiest acceptance he had ever gotten. He was pleasantly surprised by it. That didn't mean he wasn't ready for the worst.

Two left, Icelos and Viridios. Neither were happy with him taking over from their old trainer. Blinking to himself, he grabbed both Pokéball, considering, before holding them to Oceanius.

"What do you think, Nius? Should we try and reason with Icelos or Viridios first?" He asked.

To his surprise, Cleffa tugged softly on the left side of his head. Icelos' Pokéball was in his left hand, and her vote was cast. Oceanius trumpeted quietly. He didn't want a fierce battle yet. Icelos it was.

He clipped Viridios' Pokéball back on his belt and carefully let Icelos out of his Pokéball. The Larvitar seemed to need a second to remember who the person in front of him was, but once he did, a glare started in his red eyes.

Icelos seemed to be a very silent, calculating, sturdy Pokémon. He seemed like a typical Larvitar, quiet and cold. The glint of anger in his eyes would do nothing but grow as he did until he reached his final form and gained the dark attributes that Tyranitar were known for.

The Pokémon's eyes flickered to Oceanius first, taking in the Horsea and assessing how much of a threat he was. With a dismissive look, he moved onto Pandora, who seemed to be vibrating in excitement, yet still trying to be the elegant queen she would be.

Icelos bowed, almost mockingly to Cleffa, who cooed in reaction. She liked this Pokémon better than the others, mostly because he was quiet, and she appreciated it.

Ash's eyes met Icelos'. This Pokémon was the starter of Xander, just like Barastyr was to him. There was nothing that either of them could do to bring back his old trainer, but they could learn to live with each other. Icelos growled lowly in his throat, looking at Oceanius with a dismissive wave of his hand. To his surprise, Ash understood the message.

Icelos wanted to meet the leader of the pack who took his in. His hand brushed against Barastyr's Pokéball, letting his starter out. Barastyr shook his head for a moment as he reoriented himself. As a Pokémon without eyes, he relied strongly on his other senses to keep him safe.

Bara turned his head towards Oceanius, not surprised to find the Horsea out as well. He snorted in amusement as he noticed the Cleffa on top of his trainer's head but didn't really react. Ash had told them that they had new team members and had mentioned one of them was a small fairy type. His attention moved to the Larvitar, and he let out another snort, this one without a trace of amusement. He didn't like the way the other Pokémon was projecting emotions towards his boy.

The two starters sized each other up. They were about even in size, and they were the same level for now. He could tell when his starter was finally done being quiet. Of course, Bara roared, trying to prove that he was stronger than the other Pokémon.

Larvitar was a Pokémon with a plan, and Barastyr wasn't sure if that plan would end up hurting his trainer.

Ash leaned back against the tree, pulling Oceanius into his lap as the dark type and the soon to be dark type started scuffling. Neither was using any attacks, so they weren't doing much, if any, damage to the environment. At times like this, it was better to just let them fight it out. They were both starters, and they were fighting for the position at the top of the totem pole.

Ash had no doubt that Barastyr would win, his starter was too stubborn to lose his place as the first Pokémon. They growled, roared, bit, whacked, and overall argued.

At least neither of them actually made a lot of noise. Ash's eyes felt heavy, but he knew that he would be fine if he took a nap. With Oceanius and Barastyr already out, and Anubis waiting patiently for his turn to come out and wreck everything around them, he knew nothing would get anywhere near him.

He was comfortable, warm, and exhausted from the day's activities. He still needed to meet Trapinch. Before he could do anything else, he had to wait for Barastyr and Icelos to finish up. If it took a few hours, then who was he to rush them.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, so quick recap on the nicknames:

Deino- Barastyr

Sandile- Anubis

Horsea- Oceanius

Gible- Silvanus

Dratini- Nephthys

Larvitar- Icelos

Cleffa- Pandora

Bagon- Megara

Axew- Hades

Trapinch- Viridios

Oh, and because one of my friends asked, here's a bit of trivia for you, in Greek Mythology, Icelos is the god of nightmares, he was also known as Phobetor, and was one of the Oneiroi. Technically, the English version is Icelus, but I prefer the -os spelling. Alright, all done. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Ash stared across the field at his opponent. A water field wasn't something he particularly had the best strategy for, but he knew that complaining was absolutely useless. To be fair, it wasn't going to stop him from beating back the youngest of the Sensational Sisters. He had been considering throwing the match, but he knew that there was no way his Pokémon would let him lose to her of all people. Besides, he reasoned, she probably needed a reality check.

The girl stared back at him; eyes lit up in a determined fire while she cradled her arm. Daisy was standing in as the referee, resignation clear in her features. She knew what was going to happen, it was obvious to all of them, besides Misty.

Misty, oblivious to the tension that her sisters felt, had practically dragged him to the main arena as soon as he stepped foot in the Gym. She wasn't like her sisters. She was too cocky, too hotheaded, and she would suffer because of it. If she had any sense, she would have known better than to be overly confident, but it seemed like she had a lesson to learn, and all of his Pokémon were willing to teach it to her.

He had considered his team very carefully. He was going to start with Trapinch, though he would withdraw the Pokémon if he went too far. After he was knocked out, Ash would send out Oceanius to deal with the next Pokémon. Third was going to be Barastyr. Assuming he needed it, his fourth Pokémon, Hades, had agreed to join the lineup. This was going to be interesting.

Strategically, it didn't seem like the best plan, but Ash had a few tricks up his sleeves. Firstly, he wanted Viridios to faint. The Trapinch had attacked him directly yesterday and needed a good dose of reality. Ash wasn't sure if he would even bother telling him which attacks to use.

Oceanius would be next. While also a water type, the advantages of the water field would help him just as much as any of Misty's Pokémon. He was getting stronger and stronger every day and getting closer and closer to evolving. This battle might be enough to cause him to finally evolve. He was twice the size of a normal Horsea, with his black scales that were starting to sharpen, while his muscles started to bulk.

Barastyr would be vicious enough to take out anything that Oceanius missed. His jaws were bulking up, not as much as Oceanius, but noticeably stronger than they had been. His blue fur seemed to be darkening from a neutral blue to a sapphire one, a sign that he was finally growing up.

Hades probably wouldn't get a chance to battle, but he was ready for a weak fight. He couldn't take out any strong opponents yet, but he was the most willing to battle.

He was tempted to use Anubis instead, or possibly second, if only because he knew the Sandile could handle whatever Misty threw at him. He decided against it, mostly because he would be extremely limited in what he could do on the water field.

He snapped back to attention as Daisy moved. He could do this. The youngest Sensational Sister let out her first Pokémon.

"Come on, Horsea!" She shouted, throwing the Pokéball towards the field.

Ash looked at it as it materialized. It was smaller than his, older, but poorly trained. Probably a new catch for the girl. He ducked his head slightly, making sure his hat was hiding his grin. Dare he?

Yes.

Yes. He did dare. This was going to be fun. It may be breaking his plan, but he couldn't let the opportunity go to waste.

He picked up a Pokéball from his belt, unclipping it with a small smirk. "Flood their foolish hopes, Oceanius." He muttered to the Pokéball, simply pressing the button instead of throwing it like the girl did.

Unlike Misty's Horsea, his own dived as soon as he was out, hiding like the predator he could be. This battle was going to be fun. Instead of remaining standing, he sat down on the float, dipping one hand into the water.

He had learned that Oceanius could still hear him underwater, so long as his hand was submerged as well. Ash knew it has something to do with vibrations too sensitive for people to hear. In a battle of the depths, Oceanius didn't really need any instructions.

Misty looked at him, confusion clear on her features, but he stayed sitting, waiting for the battle to begin. Nothing said, after all, that his Pokémon had to be visible at the beginning of a battle. Her Horsea trumpeted questioningly, wondering what the hold up was.

When Daisy started the battle with a slash of her hand, Ash settled back a bit. If Misty brought the battle to the water, Ash had no doubt that Oceanius would destroy the other Horsea. If she tried to keep the battle on land, Oceanius would still win. It looked like her Horsea had trouble moving around on land. Poor thing wasn't anywhere near Oceanius in power.

Misty watched the dark shape at the bottom of the pool, trying to figure out what it was. She knew it was black and gold from the flash she had gotten. The problem was that she had no idea what it was. She had no idea what it could have been, only that it was quicker than her poor baby. Well, if Ash wanted a battle in the water, then she would make sure it wouldn't be what he expected.

"Smoke screen at the water, Horsea. Then dive in and show it what we can do!"

How was this idiot a gym leader in training? She had sloppy tactics and forgot the same rule her sisters had reminded him about yesterday. Figure out what you are fighting before you do anything.

It seemed like her sisters agreed with him, he could see Daisy cringing, Violet was banging her head against the bleachers, and Lily just stared in disbelief. That was just plain irresponsible of her.

The thing was, she knew he had at least one dangerous Pokémon in the form of Anubis. If she had any insight at all, she would have asked her sisters what to expect. While they may not have known his entire team, they should have known a few key players: Barastyr, Oceanius, Silvanus, and Viridios. Most of them were involved in the beach battle the previous day, and he was known by the other leaders as the boy with the Deino starter.

From that alone, she should have been able to guess that he had a Horsea himself and would probably match it with hers.

As soon as the other Horsea submerged itself, the battle was already his. It took less than a minute for Oceanius to speed like a bullet through the water and sent the other Horsea flying.

Ash snorted a laugh. Oceanius could have done so much more, but he preferred to turn himself into a battering ram. Silvanus, Anubis, and Barastyr used their powerful jaws to win. He would figure out how the rest of his team fought as he got to know them. To be fair, the strategies that they preferred at the moment would change as they evolved.

When the Horsea fell, its eyes showed the usual swirls, telling everyone that Oceanius was the winner. He was just glad that his smirk was hidden. As soon as he had it under control again, he looked up. Misty's face was red in anger, making her seem like she wanted to slap him again.

He raised an eyebrow at Daisy, waiting for her to call the round as his win. "What was that?" Daisy called calmly.

Ash smirked and dipped his fingers in the inky water for a few seconds before pulling his hand back. That was their sign that it was time for the Pokémon to rise to the surface.

Oceanius did, propelling himself up from the bottom of the pool. He made a graceful arc and landed easily on the floating tile in front of Ash.

"This is Oceanius. He's one of my strongest fighters, and the first Pokémon I caught." Ash said smugly. Oceanius trumpeted in victory.

Misty growled viciously, jealousy clouding her eyes. "You have a shiny Horsea?" She took a moment, brain racing, before smugness took over her features. "I have the right to confiscate Pokémon that are being abused, and you aren't treating this gem right. On behalf of Cerulean City Gym, and the League, you have to hand over the Pokémon to me. Now."

Ash cracked up at that. Please, as if.

Even Oceanius trumpeted a laugh. "Firstly," he said as he gained control over himself again, wiping away any trace of amusement from his face. "Only Leaders have the ability to confiscate a Pokémon. They have to be able to prove it in front of the entire league. I have the right to fight for my Pokémon. Secondly, if a gym leader in training is abusing their power, I have the right to make a complaint in front of the league and possibly get the trainee terminated. Thirdly, and most importantly, what makes you think that Oceanius is being abused? His scales are perfectly polished, he's a lot larger than your Horsea. He doesn't need me shouting directions at him, and I know what he's going to do most of the time. He lets me pick him up and has never poisoned me, even if he's had plenty of chances by now to do it."

He couldn't believe that she would even threaten to take one of his Pokémon. Still, if she thought that he would just hand over his Pokémon, any of them, she was completely insane.

"You don't deserve a powerful water type. You don't know what you're doing as a trainer. Your Pokémon are wild and I'm sure they are weak. You would never be able to help Horsea become a powerful Seadra." She snapped back.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Weak huh? Send out your second one, and we'll see just which one of us has weaklings." He sneered at her. "Just to make it fair, I'll send out something else. Oceanius, sit this round out." He didn't bother trying to return the water type. He stood up and moved over slightly so that Oceanius had a clear path to jump onto the float next to him.

Any chance of him being nice to her was now long gone. Barastyr would fight next, then Viridios if he needed a third. He had no doubt that Barastyr could handle the girls Pokémon.

"You think you can handle my team?" She laughed; eyes still glued to Oceanius. "I'll show you what a water type can be like in the hands of a master. Oshawott, front and center!"

This was her starter, the Pokémon that would make her a legend in her own right.

Ash just snorted at the confused look on the small creature's face. He didn't know much about it, other than it was a water type starter from Unova. It seemed close to evolving, but he was pretty sure even Gary's Wartortle could take it on and win. The small sea otter looked around, eyes landing on its trainer, before snorting and turning around.

Even her own starter seemed to not respect her. Ouch. "Seek and destroy, Barastyr." He muttered quietly. He was done playing around. As soon as the light faded, Barastyr roared in annoyance. He could smell that someone had upset his trainer, and he was ready to get revenge for that.

Daisy's hand slashed through the air again, stating the start of round two. As soon as they got the go ahead, Barastyr rushed in, jumping from float to float. He was in front of Oshawott in less than five seconds and clamped down on the sea otter Pokémon's tail with a loud growl.

Both Ash and Barastyr knew that he was being nice by going after its tail. One harsh chomp with his powerful jaws to the smaller Pokémon's head and it would have been dead.

To Ash's surprise, the sea otter immediately submitted with a small whining sound. It was younger than Barastyr, and it didn't want to fight. The dark type waited a few more seconds before releasing the other Pokémon. Oshawott immediately backed up next to his trainer. Somehow, it returned itself. There wasn't a fight to be had by that Pokémon.

Barastyr backed up, jumping easily to the starting point again before growling again. He was ready for a fight, and the blue otter wasn't anywhere near a challenge.

Misty seemed frozen, unable to understand that her starter didn't want to fight the other blue Pokémon.

"That's it, I'm calling it. I'm not letting this massacre continue. Winner: Ash!" Daisy announced, sending out her own beast of a starter. As soon as Blastoise was out, he was partly submerged, only his shell remained out of the water. With grace, the oldest Sensational Sister stepped on the Pokémon's back. Once she was on, the Kanto titan swam a few feet towards Misty. Daisy stepped easily off of her Pokémon and looked at her youngest sister.

In the blink of an eye, Daisy had backhanded the orange haired girl. "I'm disgusted with you." She said angrily, keeping her tone even. Never before had any of them witnessed someone so disgustingly uncaring towards her own Pokémon. Misty may have been her baby sister, and she loved her to death, but Daisy took her responsibilities seriously.

"Us too! How could you threaten to take away a Pokémon from a trainer that clearly takes care of it? Are you completely blind? Didn't you notice how the Horsea kept glancing back at Ash? Didn't you see how much Horsea adores its trainer?" Violet looked like it was a good thing she was away from the third sister. She seemed ready to slap her as well.

Lily nodded with her sister. "With how you can't even handle Oshawott, what makes you think that you could handle anything stronger than him? He's your starter, for Arceus' sake! You're clearly not taking care of him. I knew you were jealous of everyone, but really?"

Daisy stayed quiet as her sisters spoke, but her eyes flared with a storm when Misty tried to speak up. "Oh please," she said slowly. "Try and tell us that your actions were okay, and worthy of a gym leader title. Please tell us that you only had Horsea's best interest at heart, and you weren't just wanting it for yourself. Please tell us that you know how to take care of the Pokémon you've had for an entire year already."

Violet's Empoleon and Lily's Feraligator joined Daisy's Blastoise in the pool as the other two sisters stepped over the railing to get to their youngest sister.

Their fury was a sight to behold, but Ash didn't want to make things any worse for himself. He returned Bara and Nius, leaving only himself on the float. He pressed the button on the far left, within centimeters of the edge, knowing that it was how the float would move back to the starting position. The sisters might have had Pokémon capable of giving them a ride, but his team was still young and unable to do anything of the sort.

Eventually, they would be able to fly, swim, and rule the land. But not yet.

The float started moving with a sharp jerk. He wanted to leave this place behind for now and relax with his Pokémon. He doubted it would happen though. Oceanius was more than ready for a fight. Barastyr was practically craving bloodshed.

He knew what that meant. They were going to go to the outskirts of Cerulean and start training until his Pokémon dropped. His team needed the rough work out. They had been slacking off again, and it was time to focus. After they were done for the day, he would head back to the Pokémon center to heal them, and probably check in with Professor Oak while he was there.

He'd need to do some more research to make sure that his usual tactics would work for all of his team. He was just glad that most of them had started to get used to each other. Some of them would never be friends, but as long as they kept their aggression down towards the others in their team, he was fine with it.

Ash jumped the last few inches, landing easily on the edges of the arena. He glanced towards the sisters, who were thankfully ignoring him. He wanted nothing to do with that family until he came back for his badge.

Training day. Without people near. Arceus, that sounded amazing.

He snuck behind the sisters, careful to not draw their attention to him. He was fairly certain that at least two of them noticed him, but they seemed content with letting him escape for now. He had no doubt that they wanted him gone as much as he wanted to be out of this hell hole.

Visually, there was nothing wrong with Cerulean City Gym. It was massive, with large glass walls and tanks filled with water Pokémon in every hallway. Some of them were almost impossible to find in Kanto, but the rest of the sisters had spent several years traveling before they took over from their mother. There were certainly more than a few traces of other regions laying around.

He had no problem spotting Pokémon like Wooper, Qwilfish, and Corsola in one of the more tropical tanks. They had an arctic tank that was filled with Spheal, Shellder, and Seel. It was frankly amazing that they could have such different ecosystems within eyesight of each other.

Still, as much as the gym sparkled as the sunlight hit the water, he still wanted to leave this place behind. He felt like he could breathe better the second he left the building. He'd feel a lot better once he was back in the wilderness.

More than that, he was sure that his team just wanted to get away for a while. They were too tense, their hierarchy was completely messed up, and he had no idea who half of his team was. Barastyr was frustrated, trying to be patient with their new additions, but it wasn't in his nature to do so. Oceanius was prissy, he wanted his trainers attention, and he wanted to be the solo Pokémon in Ash's eyes. Nephthys kept away from him, especially when she realized how close he was to Oceanius, whom she seemed to loathe as much as he loathed her. Silvanus was scarred, not once, but twice now. He was still trying to recover from whatever happened to him before Ash had become involved in his life, as well as trying to figure out where he fit in with the new team dynamics. Anubis just wanted his boy back, but that just wasn't possible right now. It helped that they had a connection to each other, but it wasn't going to be enough. As for the rest of them, they were hurt, and for some of them, he wasn't sure if they even wanted to heal. He had to deal with the self loathing of Icelos, the regret of Megara, the numbness from Hades, the lost innocence of Pandora, and still give Viridios the wake up call he needed before the Pokémon actually became a danger that couldn't be controlled.

It was too much, too quick, to handle.

He sped up his steps, trying to keep his breathing steady as he pushed down the utter panic that was threatening to drown him. To make things worse, he was still healing, his back ached constantly to the point that he had almost forgotten what it felt like to not hurt. Mentally, seeing that Meowth again had wrecked him, but he hadn't let himself be broken down in Mount Moon. He couldn't afford to have a breakdown then, but now that he was supposedly safe, it seemed like everything was coming to a head.

He kept his eyes down as he moved through the streets, completely alone in a sea of people who had no idea who he was, or what he wanted to do. It was both frustrating and familiar to be looked through instead of looked at. It reminded him of Viridian City. There were probably a few people in both Cerulean and Viridian that knew who he was, but it had very little to do with him, or what he did, and more to do with his starter.

His heartbeat picked up once again, trying to make him panic again at the thought of Viridian, and the Rockets. He was the weakest link on his team, his true team, and he had to find a way to change that. He needed to be stronger, that's what everything told him. He had to look at things logically.

As little as he liked this situation, he had been given a few very powerful allies, one more than the others. If he was careful, he could increase their own strength, as well as his own. He wouldn't let himself be overwhelmed by Team Rocket again. It wasn't going to happen, not if he had a say in it.

"Well, well, well." Ash felt himself tense slightly. He knew that voice, he thought with an inward groan, he knew it almost as well as he knew Gary's voice. Ash turned around, fighting back exhaustion. Sure enough, LillIan- Rose was standing behind him.

She didn't look as perfect as she usually did, but that hardly seemed to affect her attitude. Hurrying to her left, an Ivysaur grumbled irritatingly. He had to admit, he was impressed that her Bulbasaur had grown so much. The toad like Pokémon glared at her side. It still had some attitude but didn't seem like it wanted to do anything but sleep.

By her side, as per usual, was Blake. His Solosis seemed content to sit on the bag hanging from his shoulder. Unlike the glee that Lilly showed, Blake was uncomfortable. He didn't want to be here, or anywhere near the gym at the moment.

Lillian pranced closer towards Ash. "You know, I've fought Gary and Vesper, but I haven't gotten to fight you yet." She was used to getting her way. Everyone eventually gave into her charms, they always had, and while she was sure that her team could completely leave Ash's in the dust, she wanted to be able to prove it to Blake, who had been getting more and more distant the longer they were on the road.

Ash resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He hadn't fought any of the Pallet Town trainers yet. He wanted to, oh how he wanted to, but he couldn't. "No thanks." It wasn't that he didn't want to, or that he was afraid of her Pokémon hurting his bad enough to put his training back possibly weeks. It wasn't that simple.

His team wasn't in the mood to battle normal trainers. Oceanius was too frustrated, and Barastyr was one attack away from slipping into a rage. Silvanus was nowhere near ready for a battle like this, he was still mentally too delicate, while Nephthys was physically too delicate to be able to fight. Pandora was too small and he hadn't found a strategy that would work well with the tiny star. Icelos wouldn't battle for him. There was no question about that. Megara and Hades might, might, listen, but they had the same problem as Pandora. He had seen them fight once, but it wasn't enough, yet, to know how to use them in battle. Viridios might be an option, but he was just as reluctant to use the Trapinch as he was to use Icelos. He wasn't sure that Viridios would listen to him, even if he did. Finally, Anubis… No, no way was he putting Anubis in the field, not if he didn't want the Pokémon to destroy something. Besides, he wanted an easy day, and if he won, Lillian wouldn't leave him alone.

"Come on, Ash, one battle won't hurt you. Tell you what, it can be a two on two using only the Pokémon Professor Oak gave us." She tried, attempting to get closer to him. It was an old trick, one that she had often used on boys when she wanted something. She knew she was beautiful and had absolutely no problem using her looks.

Ash turned away from them and started walking towards the woods. "No thanks." He threw over his shoulder. He could feel Anubis' Pokéball vibrating in anger. He reached to his belt and stroked the Pokéball for a moment, trying to calm his angry croc down a bit. It was Anubis' temper that would make him dangerous eventually.

It seemed that Anubis didn't like people touching his trainer. It would probably become a problem later, but it was one for future him to deal with. The rush of hormones from growing dragons and dark types would be painful to deal with. That, plus their bodies changing, their brains adapting to new physical size or mass, would make his team particularly salty soon enough. He dreaded the day that the first of his team evolved, because he had no doubt that the rest of them would follow soon enough, and he'd be stuck with extra hormonal Pokémon for who knew how long.

He couldn't wait until his team had fully evolved and he wouldn't have to turn away from challenges anymore. The thought of that day kept him moving away.

For them to ever get there, they needed to train, he reminded himself. They needed to work on perfecting every attack they currently had before he taught them any new ones. They needed to build up their bodies until they became the dangerous fighting machines that he knew they could be.

Depending on how they did today, he would consider heading out towards a gym battle. The first leader he battled would end up being Lt. Surge. He was the only one Ash had a distinct advantage over.

He heard a snort of laughter from behind him, pausing mid step. He knew that they were trying to bate him into a battle. He knew that they were playing him. He knew this battle was a bad idea. She wanted to battle with the two that they had gotten from Professor Oak. For him, that would be Barastyr and Anubis.

He let out a sigh. Why did everyone insist on keeping him from his training?

Still, it could be an interesting fight, if nothing else. Even if Barastyr was nowhere near ready for a hard-core fight, Anubis was, assuming he could actually keep his temper in check. Though, if he fell into Moxie… they'd all suffer. It honestly wasn't worth it, he knew it. Unfortunately, she knew the one thing that made his temper waver.

Lillian- Rose cheered slightly, mostly faking it, so that the people around her saw what she wanted them to. Sadly, Ash knew better. He was curious about battling Lillian, but he was more interested in fighting Blake.

Even now, he wasn't sure how far Lillian would go, but he knew that Blake would leave her in the dust. She had the least amount of drive out of them and wanted nothing more than to take the easy way and force people to obey her.

Blake was better than that, more active and more confident. He didn't need her domineering personality to become a great trainer, he just needed a little bit of a reality check.

The two of them, working as a team, herded Ash towards the Pokémon center, knowing that there was a battlefield behind it for trainers who wanted to fight. He reluctantly went along with their plan, and before he knew it, he was on one side of the field, with Lillian- Rose on the other and Blake in the position to referee.

"How many of your Pokémon are battle ready?" She asked loudly, gearing up for their fight.

Ash had to think about that. Nephthys wasn't. Neither was Pandora. Icelos was, but he wouldn't listen to any commands. Hades was a maybe. Megara was ready. Barastyr was ready. Oceanius was ready. Viridios might listen to him, big might. Anubis was more than ready. Silvanus was ready.

Out of ten Pokémon, he had half of his team that would listen, three that wouldn't, and two that couldn't battle. Still, he didn't want to have a long fight. While it would be fun, he wanted to relax a bit before he started moving again.

"I've got five that should listen, but I'd rather have a two on two. I do have things to do today." He said calmly, placing a hand on Barastyr's Pokéball. "Let's do our starters and the Pokémon the professor gave us as our two."

Lillian shrugged. It had been her idea to use those Pokémon anyway. She grabbed a Pokéball from her belt and kissed it, before sending out her starter. Ivysaur, Holly, grumbled as she formed on the field. She was huge compared to the tiny Bulbasaur she had been. She roared out a challenge.

Ash took that to mean it was time for Barastyr to join them on the field. "Seek and destroy." He muttered out, before letting his starter out of his Pokéball.

Holly roared again, trying to intimidate the smaller Deino. Barastyr just yawned. He had been bored in the last battle, and both hoped that this one would prove to be more interesting.

Lillian- Rose called out attack after attack, trying to poison, paralyze, and put Barastyr to sleep. It was a good strategy against a Pokémon that couldn't see, but it wasn't enough to catch Barastyr unaware.

"You know what to do." Ash called out calmly. When in doubt, Barastyr had one battle strategy: find a weak point and bite down. While it was harder on a Pokémon like Ivysaur, which was both bigger and more muscular than Barastyr, it wasn't impossible. Barastyr may not have had the giant jaw that Viridios and Silvanus did, but he was extra vicious with what he did have.

Ash frowned to himself as he noticed something, Barastyr was slow. Really, really slow. Even compared to the hulking figure that was Ivysaur, Barastyr had a hard time moving out of the way, especially when Ivysaur brought out his vines.

He had no idea how he had never noticed before, but now that he had, he made a mental note to work on it. And a lot of other things. Barastyr didn't have many attacks, especially not compared to Ivysaur. He had bite, ice fang, and crunch that worked with his jaw, headbutt, focus energy, and dragon pulse. That was it.

Ash really had been neglecting his training if this was what his starter could do. At this point, it was obvious that Barastyr was going to lose. Grass types grew too quickly for his small dark type to keep up with. For now, they were outmatched.

That didn't mean Ash wasn't going to work on teaching Barastyr Fire Fang as soon as they got out of the city, just so his jaws could prepare another nasty surprise for their next fight.

As he predicted, Barastyr was taken down by a combination of Razor Leaf and Magical Leaf blowing a sleep powder at Barastyr. Even if he had managed to dodge most of the leaves, he had still gotten hit in the face with a large dose of sleep powder and ended up falling over seconds later.

Ash recalled his starter and looked over the other Pokémon. Barastyr had done some damage, but not enough. "That's one you."

Lillian nodded and returned her starter as well, kissing the Pokéball a second time with pride. Neither of them was particularly surprised by the outcome. Not because Ash was a horrible trainer, but because his dragons grew slowly, so slowly, compared to practically every other type.

She sent out her next Pokémon, another plant, this one far smaller with a green body and two roses as hands. Its eyes seemed hesitant, but it seemed ready for battle. "We can do this, Violet!" She shouted at the Pokémon. It was a Roselia, if he wasn't mistaken. A poison type, and a grass type.

He snorted to himself before withdrawing the second Pokéball he was supposed to use. "Put it in a grave, Anubis." Unlike with Barastyr, Ash had no doubt that Anubis would win. He was getting closer to evolving with every passing battle. Anubis was massive for a Sandile, and clearly waiting for something before he was ready to evolve.

Also, unlike Barastyr, he chose to call out which attacks to use. His starter occasionally listened to him, but not often enough for Ash to want to call out his attacks. Not yet. Barastyr still didn't trust him, however, Anubis did. "Thunder fang, then Iron tail. After that, lure it closer with Dark Pulse."

He knew it wasn't Anubis's favorite method of fighting. The dark type preferred to go underground with dig and collapse the field underneath his opponent. The strategy worked better against bigger opponents than smaller ones. With Roselia, who weighed less than Anubis did, he had no doubt that the strategy would have backfired.

When Anubis raced towards Roselia, mouth opened wide, he got hit once by a Razor Leaf, which barely slowed him down, and once by a vine whip. The physical attack had stopped Anubis in his tracks, making it more and more difficult for him to dodge the next few attacks.

Ash frowned, he knew most Sandile didn't have the best defenses, but that was just pathetic. They needed to work on that. On the plus side, as soon as Anubis regrouped, he managed to use his own attacks, backwards. He used Dark Pulse to knock it back, then Thunder Fang to hold onto it, and finally, he slammed into it with Iron Tail.

Roselia was out, eyes spinning and completely unconscious.

That was one of the things he loved about Anubis. Even if he couldn't use the attacks Ash called out in the order he did, he was adaptable enough to find a way to use the commands in his own way. It was funny. Anubis followed his order to a t when he could and bent them when he couldn't. It worked for them.

"One to one. This battle is a draw." Blake announced, slicing his hand through the air. Lillian looked disappointed but didn't do anything other than recall her Roselia.

Ash had no doubt that she would have tried to send out a third Pokémon to break the tie if Blake hadn't been there. He was a stickler for following through on what the predetermined rules were. Ash nodded at her, and at Blake, before heading back inside the Pokémon Center. Both Barastyr and Anubis were fine, but they had a few bumps and bruises that he wanted to get checked out.

After a moment of hesitation, he also handed over Nephthys's Pokéball, just to see if he would finally get the all clear on her to battle. He was told it would take half an hour for them to be healed, and he just shrugged.

With thirty minutes to kill before he could get out of town, Ash had a few decisions to make. He could either spend some time getting supplies, or...

He grimaced. It was time for him to call home. Damn. He considered putting it off a little bit longer, if only for his sanity, but he needed to talk to Professor Oak. He needed to let the man know that he would be sending three of his Pokémon over, probably a little bit early, and find out why neither Anubis nor Oceanius had evolved yet. They were both ready for it. Anubis was massive, and his attitude was getting worse, a sign that moat dark type Pokémon were getting ready to evolve. Oceanius didn't even look like a Horsea anymore, not really. He was more spiked and grumpier than usual. He knew it was still too early for them to evolve, but it was getting close. One or two more good battles and they would be at their peak.

He looked considering towards the video phones, before shaking his head. If they didn't evolve with a week of hard work, battles, and training, then he would be worried. Until then, he wouldn't mention it to anyone.

But he did still need to give Professor Oak a heads up about his Pokémon. With a resigned sigh, he headed towards the phones, hooking up his trainer id easily so that his list of contacts would pop up on the screen. He selected Professor Oak's name and waited while it rang.

It didn't take long before the older man answered cheerfully. It took even less time for him to freeze when he realized who had called.

"Ash, this is... unexpected. How are you and Deino doing?"

Ash shrugged and looked awkwardly to the side. "We're good, Professor. We made it to Cerulean."

Professor Oak laughed, "Still taking a boat ride to Kalos, I take it?"

"No." He certainly didn't need any other Pokémon, even if he still had a few that he wanted for his secondary team. "I'm probably going to head south to challenge Surge first, then possibly Erika. I haven't decided yet."

The Professor gave him a seeking look. "But, what about your dragon team?" He asked curiously. "I thought you were trying to get a full team worth of dragons and trying to become a dragon master."

Ash blew out a breath. "I already have a full team." It was true. Barastyr, Oceanius, Silvanus, Nephthys, Hades, Viridios, and Megara were all either dragons or soon to be dragons. It may not have been the way he would have planned it, but he did have his team.

He saw Professor Oak's eyes move to the side, probably looking at Ash's trainer information, before his eyes widened. "Goodness, where did you get an Axew and a Bagon from?"

He sighed to himself. "Honestly, it's a long story. The short version is that I was in Mt. Moon, and the League decided that I might be a good fit for them and a few others." He trailed off, trying to figure out how to describe the utter devastation and exhaustion he was trying to process, before shaking his head and pulling himself out of it. "That's not why I called though. Seeing as I'm at the ten mark, I'm going to be sending you three in a week and a half. I don't know which ones yet, but all of my dragons have an attitude, and I doubt any of them will be happy with me sending them your way."

Professor Oak just raised an eyebrow. "So, in other words, they are going to act like spoiled Pokémon and probably throw a fit or two?"

"Most likely." He admitted. "I'm pretty sure that I'm going to send my Dratini, Nephthys, your way. She's very..." He was at a loss on how to describe her. How could he describe her? Picky? Distant? Cold? Closed off? Unmotivated? "Particular."

Professor Oak just shrugged. "Most Dratini are. When my Dragonite was a Dratini, he was the pickiest thing ever. He had to be petted a certain way, at a certain time. He would only eat from a certain bowl certain food. He didn't like using certain moves and would stare me down like I was an idiot more often than not. It's just the way most Dratini are."

Ash nodded. "She's not that bad, but she does like to have things her way. To be fair, she had been through a lot, and she was the one who saved me on Mt. Moon. She's one of my most independent Pokémon, and I know she'll be happier where she doesn't have to worry about battling too soon after her scales shed."

"She will be fine, she will spend some time with my Dragonite, and let herself be spoiled." Professor Oak had no doubt that he could handle any Pokémon Ash sent him, but the younger trainer was more hesitant.

His most destructive Pokémon, Viridios, Barastyr, Icelos, and Anubis would be staying with him for now. They would wreak havoc if he wasn't there to supervise them.

The Professor looked at him, considering something, before finally speaking. "I have a favor to ask, Ash. I have a colleague, Bill, who lives north of Cerulean, who lives off of Route 25. He needs a trainer to help him catch a newly evolved Fearow and promised to reward whoever came by. Would you mind heading up there? It's only a three day walk to his cottage."

Ash bit his lip. A Fearow, huh? He didn't have an electric type, but that didn't mean he didn't have a few ways to give one a beat down. Besides, if it had just evolved, it wouldn't know its body as well as it could, making it sloppy and more likely to fall for stupidly obvious tricks.

"Alright." He agreed slowly, "It will take me five to get over there, seeing as it's getting late already, and I have to pick up some supplies before I head out. Will that work?"

The professor nodded. "I'll let him know to expect you. Thank you, Ash."

The overhead speakers crinkled to life. "Ash Ketchum, please come to the front. Your Pokémon are ready to depart. Ash Ketchum, please come to the front. Your Pokémon are ready to depart."

"That's me." Ash muttered, more to himself than to the professor.

Oak nodded. "Indeed. I'll let Bill know you're coming, and I'll send you the map coordinates. I'll talk to you later!"

Ash nodded and hung up, standing quickly, and rushing to the counter. He was more than ready to get out of there.


	11. Chapter 11

Here is a quick run through of who is who when it comes to Ash's Pokémon.

Deino- Barastyr

Horsea- Oceanius

Dratini- Nephthys

Gible- Silvanus

Sandile- Anubis

Larvitar- Icelos

Cleffa- Pandora

Bagon- Megara

Axew- Hades

Trapinch- Viridios

* * *

Ash tucked his knees up to his chest, letting his head fall forward so that he could hide away from the world. He was so overwhelmed it was sad. Somehow, seeing Lillian expertly balance all of her Pokémon made him realize that he wasn't a good trainer. He was an okay one, mediocre at best. It wasn't his team; it was all him. He was mentally weak, and constantly afraid of failure. He was a mess.

He wouldn't let himself feel around others, and he could only really process his feelings when he was completely alone.

Ash was terrified that next time he stumbled on team Rocket; he would be the next to die. He was angry that the League had forced him to take in five new Pokémon, all within 24 hours of each other. He was exhausted constantly, mind never able to relax because every time he closed his eyes, he was back in that cave with the Rockets. He was frustrated that his team didn't really understand him, and that he couldn't understand them, even if he had made peace with all of them. He couldn't stop the nightmares, and had no idea how everyone else, especially Lillian, wasn't affected by what had happened to them. Why was he the only one who was struggling with this? Why was he the only one who was locked back in that cage every time he closed his eyes?

Yeah, he was a mess.

That said nothing about his team. Barastyr still didn't fully trust him and hesitated to follow his instructions. Nephthys just had no interest in him or battling. Silvanus was beyond clingy, but who could blame him? He was horrifically abused before Ash became his trainer. Anubis was vindictive, especially when it came to Barastyr. Icelos didn't care about anything, becoming more detached from his team every hour. Megara hated everything but would fight because she had pledged herself to him. Hades was in denial. And Viridios... Ash had no idea how to deal with the Trapinch.

Funny enough, the only members of his team with any sort of stability were Oceanius, who simply, while angry constantly, took his aggression out on training and battling, and Pandora, who was too young to understand what was happening.

He wanted to help his team, but he didn't know how. Ash knew he was staggering under the weight of these Pokémon, and frankly, he knew that sooner or later, he would fall.

He gripped his knees tighter. Every part of him wanted to make a plan, something to guide him forward, yet every time he tried, he failed to follow through. Nothing was going to get done if he just sat here. There was nothing to do except move forward.

Bite sized plans. Little things he could accomplish without having to regroup again. If he could come up with small goals, just steps he wanted to take in the next few weeks, then he might have a chance of actually getting somewhere. His earlier thoughts echoed in his head as golden eyes blazed in determination.

Training day.

After the battle with Lillian- Rose, he could easily see what needed to be done to get Barastyr closer to the top. His speed was supremely lacking. He was faster than Ivysaur, but still slow. He needed to move faster. He also needed a wider pool of attacks. At least, he needed to master thunder fang and fire fang so that he had some variety. He needed a few defensive moves as well, and he needed to work on his reaction time.

On the other hand, Anubis needed to learn how to take hits. He had almost been overwhelmed by Lillian's Roselia in two hits. If Anubis had been even a little bit more able to take hits, they wouldn't have struggled at all. Ash knew that Anubis had a type disadvantage, but that wasn't exactly the reason that he had struggled. He needed a few defensive moves that would help him next time they fought.

Honestly, if he had to do it over again, he would have switched the order of the two in the battle. Barastyr would have a much easier time with a smaller opponent, while Anubis would have had no problems burying Ivysaur in a sand tomb. It would have made things easier, but then again, it was a good lesson for them. They couldn't always have an obvious advantage, but they could have had a few tricks up their sleeves for cases like that. If, for example, Barastyr knew Thunder Fang, and had better control over his Ice Fang, as well as possibly access to Fire Fang, the battle would have gone completely differently.

He took a deep breath and released all of his Pokémon, not letting himself hesitate as he looked at them. He could do this. He could help them get strong enough to protect themselves, and possibly, eventually, him as well. Just because they had been outclassed didn't mean that it would be the same thing the next time Lillian challenged him. He wasn't going to tie with her again, especially because she was obviously the second weakest of the quintet. If he wanted to take his place as a Dragon Master, then he'd need his team to be able to stand up to a lot more than just an Ivysaur and a Roselia.

To make things worse, if he had been just using his dragons, he wouldn't have stood a chance. If it had been a serious battle, one until both opponents were down for the count, he would have been screwed. He had a giant weakness to Grass types, one that was obvious even now. He didn't have a single fire type, and his Pokémon couldn't use fire type moves with the ease that they would need to in order to beat Erika. Heck, as they were, his team couldn't beat the Sensational Sisters either.

A few elemental moves would help him catch up, even if it was only a little bit.

"We've got a lot of work to do, guys. We have been taking it easy for the last few weeks, and frankly, I don't think we can do that anymore. None of you know how to work together, and I don't know anything about half of you. So, we're going to do some battles, just so I can see who needs the most help where. I'm done being weak, and I'm tired of being dragged into situations I can't do anything about. Here's what's going to happen, if I see any fighting outside of training, both Pokémon are going to be punished by becoming are target practice. No maiming, or severe injuries, especially when we are as far out as we are. I know some of you remember Lance, and everyone remembers Mt. Moon. I'm not going to be helpless like that again." He took a big breath, mentally splitting his team up so that they were with those of similar power. It only took a few seconds.

"Oceanius, you, Anubis, and Viridios are my three strongest fighters. You three are leagues above the others, and I want you guys to do a battle royal. Last one standing wins. Keep an eye on them, Nius, if they go too far, knock them both out." He explained, locking eyes with his Pokémon as he said their names. "Icelos, you're with Barastyr. I want you two to work out your problems with each other one on one. This random fighting has to stop. Got it? Megara, you, Silvanus, and Hades are going to be fighting together, have fun, but keep in mind, I'm watching. Lastly, Pandora, you and Nephthys are going to be sparing, lightly. Neph was cleared for a fight, but she's not ready for a full on battle yet. I think she's ready. Pandora, you are the youngest here, but I know you should be fine against Neph. Okay guys, let's do it."

Depending on how they did, he would know what not to do next time. Usually, in training sessions, he paired Oceanius with Barastyr, and the winner took on Silvanus. Neph spent her time either watching or working on an attack he wanted her to master. Back when there were only four of them, he knew which pairs to use, because he knew his Pokémon. Now, he had six new Pokémon to work with, and each one of them interacted with each other differently. It was a pain to think about which personalities worked best with each other.

He knew he was taking a couple of risks with these team ups, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. Anubis and Viridios were the two he was most worried about. He hoped that by letting them spar, he would have a chance to let them get out their aggression towards each other. It really sucked that he couldn't trust them, and he hated having to pick one to stay in their Pokéball when the other got to stretch their legs.

Against a normal Trapinch, he would have been a lot more worried, but Viridios was a lot stronger than most of his Pokémon and could handle himself with his bad attitude. Anubis would be tempted to try and take a bite out of him, but Viridios would easily bite back, possibly harder than he was bitten. He was hoping that Oceanius would be able to keep them in line and blast them with water gun if they decided to try and decapitate each other.

Icelos, being Xander's starter, had a deep hatred for Barastyr. He resented the fact that Ash was alive when his trainer was dead. He loathed the dragon Pokémon's mentality to leave his team to do what they wanted. Icelos wanted Barastyr to be a better leader.

Meanwhile, Barastyr simply hated everyone. He still didn't fully trust his trainer to have his best interest at heart and wasn't impressed by the number of Pokémon on the team. Barastyr was, by nature, a dark type who wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to have to care about the rest of the team, or how they interacted with each other. Still, he was Ash's starter, and the leader of the pack. He should be the strongest Pokémon Ash had, and also the one that the other's listened to, and he hated the constant reminders that he wasn't.

Megara, Hades, and Silvanus were mostly indifferent towards each other. While at first, Megara and Hades seemed to be attached at the hip, after a little bit of time, it was clear that they didn't get along, but they didn't not get along. Hades was wild in battle, constantly swinging his head around to slice at his opponents. Megara seemed to take the most hits but wasn't as comfortable with attacking. Silvanus had a simple strategy, one that Anubis, Viridios, and Barastyr seemed to agree with: Get it in your jaws and bite down.

All four groups worked apart from the others, and Ash easily spotted several problems. His attention was drawn first to Nephthys and Pandora. Neph seemed to wait until the last possible second to move when Pandora was attacking her. Not because she couldn't, but simply because she didn't want to. Pandora was simply too slow, too weak, and too unrefined to do any damage against Nephthys.

A strong Water Gun pushed a Pokémon at him, making him duck so that he didn't get hit by Viridios who Oceanius had sent flying. Only five minutes into their sparing, and Ash could see Oceanius's red eyes lit up in rage. Viridios hit a tree roughly, splintering the bark where he landed. His reddish orange head shook harshly, before he launched himself at Oceanius. Sadly, for Viridios, he was intercepted by Anubis, who launched himself into the air to knock into him.

Ash rolled his eyes at it. Viridios and Anubis weren't battling, they were brawling, and it was making Oceanius more and more angry with every passing second.

His eyes moved toward the next battle, Icelos vs Barastyr. He winced as the top of Icelos' crest got caught in Barastyr's strong jaws, but the hardy Pokémon didn't even seem to notice, too busy reading an earth power to slam into the other Pokémon. Ash snorted when Barastyr was forced to let go of the Larvitar, who sped backwards. It made sense. Icelos was more of a distance fighter at this age, whereas Barastyr was a close ranged fighter. It was almost funny how they would switch tendencies when they evolved. Most Tyranitar were close ranged fighters, while most Hydreigon were distance fighters.

It seemed like Megara and Hades had teamed up against Silvanus and were working on taking him down together. They had him cornered, and he looked like he was less than a minute from fainting. He stepped into their battle, calling a halt for this one so that he could take Silvanus out of the fight, before nodding at them to continue.

Hades and Megara seemed to dance with each other as they fought, each waiting for the right time to attack. They knew each other and their styles better than he could have predicted. Ash had no doubt that these two would be able to dominate practically every double battle he came across. They just knew each other too well.

Silvanus groaned by Ash's side as he healed the worst of the damage with a few spray bottles of potions. He was pretty sure that his trainer knew he wasn't out yet, but Ash had withdrawn him anyway. Next time, he was going to get both of them in his jaws and crush them before they could hurt him again. It was embarrassing for Silvanus to be the first Pokémon that had to be withdrawn. Even baby Pandora and princess Nephthys were still going at it.

Speaking of, they seemed to be trying to outdo each other but not by battling, not anymore. Oh no, they were both using ice type moves on two trees to see which one was more powerful. Pandora took a huge breath and blew out an Icy Wind at her target, while Nephthys was using Ice Beam on hers. It seemed like Nephthys had a better grasp on the move, but Pandora had a little trick up her sleeve.

While the dragon was preoccupied with her attack, Pandora had jumped up, out of her view, and came down hard on her back with a rough Pound.

Ash shook his head as he watched them start to fight again. Honestly, those two would be the death of him.

Or not.

Oceanius had decided to spray both Viridios and Anubis again. It only took Ash a second to see why. The two ground types were at it again, this time attempting to take the battle underground so that their trainer and chaperone couldn't keep an eye on them. Oceanius was too clever for that and threatened to drown them every time they tried.

Meanwhile, Icelos had somehow managed to maneuver an earth power so that Barastyr was completely trapped and forced to lay down or break all of his legs. The rock type growled in victory, and Barastyr strained to break free. He couldn't, making Ash call that fight. Icelos let Barastyr up, and he strode contentedly towards their trainer. Barastyr wouldn't stop growling and huffing, but he was mostly alright.

The Deino stomped over to their trainer and sat down next to Ash's foot, huffing grumpily to get some attention. Ash scratched his starter behind the ear with one hand and sprayed a potion on Icelos' back. He kept an ear out for the next victor.

It turned out to be Nephthys, who strangely seemed more battle hungry than he had ever seen her. She had not appreciated Pandora's trick, and managed to knock out the small Cleffa when Ash's attention was on Icelos and Barastyr.

He moved to gather the knocked-out Pandora, cradling her in his arms. He was so proud of Nephthys. She only had a few bruises and had taken to the battle better than he thought she would. She trilled at him, content for the first time since she had been caught. They had both done incredibly well considering it was their first battle. He leaned down and scratched Neph behind the ears, smiling when she trilled again, before moving back to his bag.

He dug through it for a revive, and carefully cracked it, pouring the powder into Pandora' mouth. It worked almost instantly, making her blink sleepily at him from her spot. She was done for the day. She was just a baby Pokémon after all.

Neph was tired, but still ready to battle. He watched her curl up next to him, waiting for the next battle she knew he would command them to be in.

Ash hesitated. He wanted to put her into the duo of Megara and Hades, but that probably wasn't a good idea. Silvanus could still battle, now that he had been healed a bit, but he needed a break first. Maybe Icelos would be willing to take her on. There was no way he was putting Neph and Bara in a battle together. The other three were too strong and would crush her without having to try very hard.

He decided to wait for the final two fights to finish up. Unlike the others, Megara and Hades seemed more interested in testing each other than actually hurting each other. Ash felt a bit stupid for not noticing that the two Pokémon seemed to have a rivalry going on. It made sense. When there was more than one dragon on a team, they would start to splinter until one took over as the dominant dragon. Thankfully, Oceanius and Viridios weren't on in the running just yet. They hadn't gotten their dragon typing and were missing the rush of hormones that caused the fights in the first place. Unfortunately, there was also a fight between his dark types, Icelos, who may not have gained his typing yet but still had the personality of one, Anubis, and Barastyr.

Ash couldn't help but grimace when he realized what his team needed: a free for all fight. They needed to establish their hierarchy, and their places in it. He was going to have a hell of a time trying to get Barastyr into his most powerful fighter. That was the only way to ensure his teams loyalty to him, and only him. All of his team would be training while they headed towards Route 25, but he would make sure that Barastyr got some extra attention.

Hopefully, that would even out the balance of power and his team would find some sort of harmony. He'd give himself one week to get Barastyr into the fighter he had to be. Yes, he grew slower than the others, but that was just something they would have to work around. He had never been the most powerful fighter, but soon, he was going to have to take on all three of Ash's most powerful Pokémon and win.

Almost twenty minutes passed before Megara landed wrong and Hades got a solid blow on her. That was all he needed to get the battle going in his favor. It worked, and less than a minute later, Megara was down.

He picked up Megara, fed her a revive, and sprayed a potion on Hades' smaller wounds. Once they were safely taken care of, he turned his attention back to the strongest Pokémon Ash had: Oceanius, Viridios, and Anubis.

Oceanius was his most regal fighter. The Horsea didn't let his small size keep him from taking on any challenge and winning. He was always angry, and considered himself above the petty arguing, simply because he had always proven himself to be Ash's most capable fighter.

At least, until Anubis and Viridios came around.

Anubis had a habit of snapping at whichever Pokémon came near him, ally or not. He had a bad attitude all around and didn't care if he alienated his teammates simply because he knew he was superior to them. He considered himself Ash's true starter and looked at the inferior dark type as a stand in for himself. Whereas Oceanius simply didn't have time for the bickering, Anubis didn't have the temperament for it. He was quick to anger and didn't want anyone else near what he called his, including his trainer.

Lastly, Viridios. The Trapinch was funny, laughing maniacally at nothing and always trying to tear off a limb from whatever he was fighting. He was bloodthirsty, and friendly enough, if one didn't mind losing a limb to his powerful jaws. He only listened to Ash because he had nothing better to do. At least Ash let him out and let him fight. His old trainer was terrified of him. He was a vicious fighter and a force to be reckoned with.

All three of them were used to being the strongest Pokémon in their group, and none of them took well to the others trying to usurp their title. It made sense that those three would be his strongest. Water types grew the fastest out, and where Oceanius had been overtaken, he was now able to be a force of nature. Anubis was both a ground type and a dark type. He didn't grow as quickly as Oceanius did, but he was more stable with his power than the Horsea was. Viridios was a pure ground type, which meant that he grew steadily more powerful the more he fought. They were one of the hardiest types, because if they fought stronger opponents, they grew stronger faster, and vice versa.

When Trapinch evolved, his growth would slow down to match Barastyr and the others. When Oceanius evolved, he would still overtake all of them. When Anubis evolved, the two of them would fight for the top spot. By the time Viridios was a Flygon, the dynamics would have to change again. In other words, he'd have to let them establish their hierarchy at least three separate times.

Just great.

For now, it seemed like Oceanius was overwhelming the other two. He was done playing nice with the stupid crab and croc. Thanks to his exceptionally strong Water Gun, Anubis was knocked into a tree, harder than ever, and fainted because of it.

Down to two fighters, it seemed like Viridios was pretty much done fighting, as he scurried over to Anubis. Oceanius, on the other hand, was not about to take the other turning his back on him lightly. He blasted him with a Bubblebeam, just enough to get him to fall into a hole that had been created on the field. Unlike earlier, Oceanius was more than happy to shove the Trapinch into it.

Once the other Pokémon vanished from view, Oceanius shot burst after burst of water into the hole, slowly working on filling it up so that Viridios would suffocate and drown.

Ash whistled sharply, signaling for the end of the fight. If they kept this up, he would be down a Pokémon permanently. He had thought that Anubis and Viridios would be his biggest concerns when it came to having them work together, but he might have been wrong. Oceanius didn't like either of them.

He glanced at his team, Viridios was covered in mud and pouting, Anubis was still knocked out by a tree, Oceanius was smug, just like Icelos, Nephthys, and Hades. Barastyr was in a horrible mood, Pandora was exhausted, and Megara was ready to take a break. All in all, his team had done better than he expected.

He quickly revived Anubis, who's pride was smarting more than his bruises, and gathered the rest of his team around him.

"Okay, guys. We're going to be doing fights like these twice a day from now on, first thing in the morning, and right after lunch. When we stop for the night, I'm going to have each of you working on either learning or perfecting a move. In a couple of days, we're going to have to take down a Fearow, and on the way, I'm going to make sure we fight everyone we can find. No more slacking off. No more excuses. We've fallen behind, and now we need to work twice as hard to catch back up. Got it?"

None of the ones who lost seemed keen on trying again twice a day, but they were going to fight because they needed to. Hopefully, this would help him bond with them, and help them get stronger. With some luck, they would be able to take on a Fearow in a couple of days.

He considered the group and returned all of them except for Barastyr. They would need to leave soon, and he wanted to make sure that they were on the same page before he did.

Ash let out a long sigh as he watched his starter kick the ground in annoyance. "I know you're frustrated, Bara, but I didn't pair you with Icelos to make you angry. I did it so that you could see how much further we have to go. You and I both know what will happen if you lose the next round, so I'm going to work with you exclusively while we're on the road. You need to learn Thunder Fang, and Fire Fang, to start with, just so you have a little bit more maneuverability. You have to trust me when I tell you which attacks to use, because sometimes I see things that you don't, and sometimes, you see things I can't. We have to be a team, Barastyr. Without you, the others can't trust me. You're my starter."

Barastyr grumbled, but Ash understood. The Deino felt like he had been usurped as Ash's starter because of the other two Pokémon who had been starters. He was jealous because Ash seemed to understand the croc better than he understood Barastyr. It didn't help that Anubis was so overprotective towards their trainer. He wasn't used to sharing the boy with anyone other than Oceanius, Nephthys, and Silvanus. Now, they had too many new teammates, and Barastyr doubted where he stood. It didn't help that every few seconds the Larvitar continuously told him what he was doing wrong when it came to the boy and kept saying that maybe he should have been Ash's starter instead.

It took him a few seconds to understand exactly what his starter was telling him, but once he did, he couldn't stop the disbelief from coloring his voice. "I haven't replaced you with Icelos or Anubis!" Ash said incredulously. Sure, he adored Anubis, but he didn't treat the other dark type like he was better than Barastyr. Did he?

He did have a better relationship with the Sandile than he did Barastyr, but that was partly because Barastyr didn't trust him, and partly because Anubis didn't trust the other Pokémon. He had spent months with Anubis, preparing to take the small croc with him, and he had his heart broken when Professor Oak said that he couldn't take him.

Icelos, on the other hand, resented him. The only reason Icelos even listened to him earlier was because he wanted to fight Barastyr. That was it.

He would never replace Barastyr, even if he was one of the most frustrating Pokémon on the planet. Ash adored him, and he was the one that Ash had chosen to be the one who would lead the rest of the pack of dragons.

His face softened a bit and he knelt down next to his starter. "Look, Bara, you are special to me. You are my starter, and I'm sorry if I'm not good at showing it, but I wouldn't trust anyone else to have my back, alright? You and me? We're it. You're my only starter, and I hope that I'm your only trainer."

He must have been a complete failure as a trainer if his starter couldn't trust him. What did it say about his ability to keep going forward?

No, he chided himself. No more hesitating. No more doubting. No more drowning. He could do this.

"You have to trust me, and I," he let out a sigh, "I'm not good at this, Barastyr. I'm not someone who spends a lot of time communicating with others. I'm going to get better at it, and I'm going to learn how to rely on you. I'm not going to tell you that you need to get along with everyone, but no matter how many Pokémon I end up, I would never replace any of you. I'm sorry I made you feel like I would."

He ran a hand through his hair. Emotions were not his forte. He wasn't very good as reassuring anyone, even himself. Having Pokémon rely on him required him learning a skill that he usually didn't have. But he would try.

Even if it was super awkward.

There was one thing Ash knew he could do to help his bond with the young dark type, one that every trainer did within hours of meeting their starter. It was something he had neglected to do for several reasons, firstly, he doubted that the young dark dragon would have been interested in him, and secondly, because he didn't open up to anyone.

He picked up his bag and started heading north, careful to keep his eyes on the road in front of him and started talking. He spoke about everything from his hopes for the future to his fears of what he could become. He told Barastyr how he had always been alone, with the small exception of the few years he had been friends with Gary. He told the Pokémon everything he could think of, rambling on for the better part of an hour.

Barastyr just trotted along beside him and listened, making noises every so often to show that he was listening.

Some parts were harder than others to talk about, especially the parts with his dad, and he had teared up a few times. It was strange how such a simple thing had helped him feel so much better about himself and his Pokémon. He trusted his starter with every little detail, every emotion, and in return, Barastyr offered support that he had never had before.

It was incredible how much closer he mentally felt to the Pokémon. He regretted not doing this sooner, but he knew that they had both needed some time to get to know each other before Ash opened up. If he had done it on the first day, he was pretty sure Barastyr would have run off and never looked back. Dragon types did appreciate honesty, but dark types didn't care for weakness.

Still, Barastyr was his starter, not just a Deino, but his Deino. He would work on trusting Barastyr because he knew that they would need each other for what was coming. They would need to be a united front against the gym leaders they challenged, and everyone they came across on their way to the Indigo League Conference.


	12. Chapter 12

This story is a monster. Just a freaking monster. Hold on, ya'll, because this story is already over 90k, and it's nowhere near done. I honestly have no idea how long this story is going to go, but I suppose we'll see. This is, funny enough, one of my favorite chapters, and I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I liked writing it. I meant to upload this a few days ago, but life gets in the way. I also have another Pokémon story that I have been working on, one that feels very different to this one. I probably will try and get another few chapters on that one before I post it. And before anyone asks, no that Ash does not have a specialist. Though I do have several others that I'm thinking about working on. I also have several original projects, as it is November, which means National Novel Writing Month, a challenge I do every year. That's enough about me, lets get to the good part.

Alright, here's the list of Pokémon:

Deino- Barastyr

Gible- Silvanus

Horsea- Oceanius

Dratini- Nepththys

Sandile- Anubis

Cleffa- Pandora

Larvitar- Icelos

Bagon- Megara

Axew- Hades

Trapinch- Viridios

* * *

It had been a productive four days. According to the map, Ash was less than half an hour away from Bill's, and he knew it wouldn't take long to take care of the Fearow that had been bothering the man. It wasn't going to be a difficult job.

He had actually really enjoyed the last few days with his Pokémon. Once he opened up to Barastyr, it seemed like all of his Pokémon had relaxed around him. Even his icy queen, Nephthys, had allowed him to pet her outside of grooming sessions.

There was still a lot of aggression between some of his Pokémon, but it was getting better. It seemed like they had finally accepted that they were going to be on the same team for the rest of their lives. They weren't particularly happy about it, but they were starting to accept it.

The training sessions had been going better than he could have hoped. Barastyr had gotten the hang of Thunder Fang with the help of Anubis. He was also working on a new move, one that would be unique to him: Dragon Fang. In theory, it was similar to both Ice Fang and Thunder Fang, but with one key difference. He would gather draconic energy for the bite. It was tough, Barastyr's weakest moves were his dragon ones, but they were making progress.

Oceanius had mastered his moves and was working on learning two new ones, Waterfall and Focus Energy. He almost had Focus Energy down, seeing as it wasn't a particularly difficult move, but it would give Oceanius a chance to buff himself up if he was in a bad situation. Ash had promised himself that as soon as Oceanius finally evolved, he would help the water type learn twister. He had gotten even closer to evolving, and Ash was fairly certain, at this point, he was resisting becoming a Seadra because he would have to take a more active role in helping the other Pokémon.

Silvanus was working on learning Slash and Dragon claw. Ash was trying to get his Pokémon to use his entire body as a weapon, instead of just his powerful jaws. Silvanus was grumpy that Ash wanted him to add a new style to his way of fighting, but they were working on it.

Nephthys was working on her own attack: Slam. Ash was more limited to what she could do, and he was more cautious with her training than he was with the others. She practically mastered the move in a day, even if she gave him an annoyed look every time he asked her to use it.

Anubis was happy with one of his new moves, Dark Pulse, but he hated working on Iron Tail. Ash was also trying to figure out how to incorporate a new move that he was calling Dark Tail, into Anubis' training. Anubis had to know both of the other moves to a master's level before he would be ready for the created attack though.

Icelos was working on one move, something that the two of them had come up with during a training session. It took the attack Iron Head and twisted the typing to a rock type move, Rock Head. It slowed down the move tremendously, but Ash had promised to work on Rollout next, if the small ground type could get the attack down. He wondered if he could put a dark twist on the attack, but that was an idea for another time.

Megara was struggling with her new move. She was trying to learn Dragon Pulse, but she seemed to be having an almost impossible time getting the attack down. She was trying too hard, and her frustration was just making things worse. Ash had faith that she would get it down. He had Barastyr helping her a bit, and they were slowly making progress.

Hades had taken to Night Slash like a Goldeen to water. He absolutely adored firing the attack at random, just to watch the explosion. Ash couldn't help but wonder if he had a pyromaniac on his hands, but he tried not to think about it. He was considering getting his hands on the Incinerate TM for the Pokémon when they got to Celadon, just to see what would happen.

Viridios had his mind obsessing over Signal Beam. He was considering having him learn Dragon Fang when it was finally finished, but honestly, he didn't need the extra fighting power. He was still one of the strongest, but Oceanius could take him on, one on one, and win. That, more than anything, completely pissed off the Trapinch. He loathed losing to anyone and had taken to snapping his jaws whenever he saw Oceanius. The water type just rolled his eyes ignored Viridios.

Pandora had grown a lot. She hadn't learned any new moves, but that was only because he was working with her on mastering the moves she already had. She had the smallest move pool to choose from but mastering what she knew would help her a lot. As soon as she did, Ash was going to have her learn Magical Leaf, something he had a feeling she would love to use.

At the moment, Pandora was on his head, using his hair as a hand hold to make sure she didn't fall from her perch. Barastyr was on his right. He had hardly gone into his Pokéball the last few days and had become a steady presence by his side. Hades was on his left, watching with clinical eyes. He had a pretty good relationship with Hades, and he enjoyed watching the small dragon glare down anything that got in his path.

Finally, Icelos was trailing behind them. He had kept his distance on purpose, still angry most of the time. However, he had also stolen Ash's hat when Pandora knocked it from his head and was wearing it. The ground type didn't like having the sun in his eyes. Ash didn't mind, it was something that hopefully meant that Icelos was starting to heal. He hoped that one day, the rock skin Pokémon would be by his side, just like Barastyr and Anubis.

All three of them had the weirdest dynamic he had ever seen. They hated each other, picked on each other, and overall tormented each other. But, when it came to Ash, they suddenly became overprotective mother hens. Whenever another trainer wanted to battle, Icelos would shove his way to the front and fight to keep the other human far away from his human. In battle, almost all of his Pokémon shared the same ferocity that Barastyr had.

Pandora was surprisingly mean with her favorite combination of Sing and Icy Wind.

Viridios had basically gotten to the point where he didn't bother with Anubis, if only because the croc hadn't won in a fair battle yet. Thankfully, Ash could groom the Ant Pit Pokémon now, which would have resulted in the loss of a few fingers last week. It wasn't much, but Ash was ecstatic that he had gotten as far as he had with the Pokémon.

He had basically decided who his team was going to be, once he had to send a few of his Pokémon to the professor. He was keeping Barastyr, Hades, Icelos, Anubis, Viridios, Oceanius, and Pandora. He would be sending Nephthys, Megara, and Silvanus to the professor.

It wasn't an easy decision, but he knew that it was the team that needed him the most. He trusted Nephthys, Megara, and Silvanus to continue training on their own. There would be lots of comfortable things for Silvanus to chew on at the lab, Neph would have unlimited access to high places that she could wrap herself around, as well as new people to scare. Megara was the one he struggled with the most. His decision was made by the fact that she was always trying to find things to jump off of. Oak and his people would be able to keep a better eye on her than he could. Besides, he would switch out his Pokémon every time he could, so that all of them got his attention.

Hades stopped dead by his side, nose twitching as he tried to figure something out. Whatever it was, Barastyr was not happy with it coming their way.

He heard a loud caw and cringed. That must have been the Fearow that Bill had asked him to take care of. All of his Pokémon got ready for battle, but Ash had already told them who was going to be doing the battle.

He sent out Viridios, who cackled when the Fearow let out another loud cry. As soon as it came into view, Viridios was off, charging a Signal Beam. He let it lose. The Pokémon seemed to fall from the skies, which was exactly what Viridios wanted. As soon as it was low enough, the orange Pokémon jumped onto the back of the bigger Pokémon.

He crunched down harshly on a wing, easily drawing blood. Fearow tried to shake off Viridios, but his Pokémon wasn't letting go. If Viridios could get the battle on the ground, he would win. Ash wasn't sure how well the ground type would do in a pure flying battle.

Somehow, Fearow had managed to throw off Trapinch, and caught the smaller Pokémon in a wing attack. Viridios hit the ground roughly.

Ash heard someone gasping in the distance, but his focus was entirely on Viridios. There was one big reason he had chosen the Trapinch as the Pokémon to go against Fearow: Evolution.

Viridios was so close to evolving, Ash could almost taste it. They were both getting frustrated by his lack of evolution. Ash had hoped that a battle against a stronger opponent, someone who could outdo even Oceanius, would have been enough to finally force the change.

Ash mentally started a timer. Viridios had ten seconds to get up before he sent Anubis to help, and possibly Oceanius as well. He knew his team could take down the Pokémon, but he was trying to use as few as he could to bring down the giant bird. He took a good look at the Pokémon, it was newly evolved, that was obviously from its still changing feathers, but it was large. At four feet tall, and probably seven feet wide, the Pokémon was magnificent, but dangerous. Its beak was longer than normal, and probably delivered a devastating Drill Peck.

Viridios did have a hard shell, but he would feel an attack from something like that.

Hell, all of his team would. None of them had the impossibly hard skins, or scales, that they would when they finally evolved. He technically only had one Pokémon who specialized in defense, and that was Icelos. However, Icelos wouldn't be able to last very long against something like a Fearow. It was one of many glaring weaknesses that trainers working with dragons faced.

Viridios pushed himself up, legs shaking from the hit, and Ash just sighed. A hand slipped down to Anubis' Pokéball, ready to let out his other ground type if he needed to.

Fearow sent another wing attack at Viridios, but this one missed. Viridios had gone underground. He was safe there, but they would be at a standstill if the Pokémon stayed where he was.

Ash played with an idea for a second, a small smirk on his face as he moved to let Oceanius out instead. If there was anything that riled up Viridios lately, it was him. Oceanius trumpeted in greeting, before focusing on the Pokémon in front of him. He seemed curious, not scared, of the larger Pokémon.

When Fearow crowed again, Oceanius trembled, and curled in on himself. Ash rolled his eyes but stayed silent. For some reason, Oceanius seemed to like playing 'poor, defenseless, weak, Horsea.' It was his favorite way of getting an opponent close to him, before he blasted them with a Bubblebeam or Water Gun.

On his head, Pandora giggled happily. She used the same tactics when she battled. The problem was, Ash wasn't sure whose strategy it was first, just that they both seemed to prefer it.

He didn't have it in him to tell Oceanius that he couldn't pull it off, seeing as he looked like a massive, ferocious, spiked Horsea instead of a defenseless one.

Still, Fearow fell for it and got closer. That was a big mistake. Oceanius was a ranged fighter, sure, but his attacks hurt even more up close. Fearow found out the hard way, as Oceanius blasted him when he got in range. The attack seemed to knock Fearow completely out of the air, and that, apparently, was exactly what Viridios was waiting for. Fearow didn't just land, he fell right into Viridios' trap of a Sand Tomb.

Ash laughed when Fearow tried to get up. Oceanius wasn't letting it get back in the sky and kept blasting it with Water Gun every time it tried. The two of them worked together to keep it down and seemed to be winning.

Until, Fearow decided to shoot himself further into the trap, where Viridios was waiting, beak glowing white.

Ash winced as Fearow stabbed the little Trapinch, before freezing. Something had changed. A loud, deep, screech made Ash throw his hands over his ears. Fearow shot up, away from the noise, but it wasn't the only one to leave the trap. A four-foot-long dragon fly looking Pokémon emerged from behind it. The Pokémon had four deep emerald colored wings, with matching eyes.

It cackled as it rose towards the sky. Viridios had evolved into a Vibrava. He rubbed his wings together, sending another attack towards the Fearow, Sonic Boom, and that was enough.

Fearow crashed into the ground, eyes swirling in unconsciousness. Ash primed a Pokéball and threw it, knowing instinctively that it wasn't able to fight anymore.

The red light engulfed the Pokémon, and within seconds, it disappeared completely. It couldn't fight anymore, and a simple click told him the capture was effective. He strode over, plucking the Pokéball up. That had turned out better than he thought it would, he thought to himself as the Pokéball disappeared, going to Oak's lab seeing as he had already maxed out the number of Pokémon, he could have with him.

He whistled sharply making his Pokémon crowd him. He returned Oceanius after a quick pet on the head, before turning his attention to Viridios.

His green eyes glowed with a maniacal light, and Ash couldn't help but chuckle. Yep, same old Viridios. "Looking good, bud. How do you feel?" He asked, hovering a hand over Viridios' head. The Pokémon butted into his hand, and Ash hid a smile. Someone was in a good mood.

Viridios chattered at him, a new sound that he hadn't heard from the Pokémon before, but he still understood easily. The newly evolved Vibrava needed to rest, even if he didn't want to. Ash nodded and recalled the now dragon/ground type.

He would let Viridios out again when he set up camp later and check on him, his wings more than anything.

A sudden clapping pulled his attention from his Pokémon to a man with messy green hair and jet-black eyes. He was young, older than Ash, but still probably in his late teens. His eyes sparkled in intelligence, but he was missing one very obvious thing: a Pokémon.

"You must be Ash. That was a nice fight. I honestly thought that Fearow might kill your Trapinch, but you turned it around pretty easily. Come on, let's get going." The man jerked his head slightly, and Ash blinked at him.

"Um, I thought you just needed someone to catch Fearow for you." Ash stuttered out. Pandora yanked on his hair. For some reason, that made him relax a bit. His team was still with him, and hopefully, they would be able to keep him safe if he needed them.

Bill turned to glance at him from the corner of his eye. "That's part of it. I wanted to study Fearow, but he's yours, and you have to tell Samuel that I can borrow him for a little bit. After that, I have one other slight problem that I hope you can solve for me, just a Pokémon that's being a little too mischievous for me and needs to find a new home before it ruins more of my electronics." Bill shrugged. "It should be easy for your team to deal with."

"What's going to happen to Fearow?" Ash questioned.

That got a small smile on Bill's face. "I'm not going to hurt him, if that's what you're asking. I'm more of a techie than a trainer, and I doubt that I could hurt Fearow if I tried to. But I am interested in a few things, such as Pokémon with aggression." Bill glanced at his team, "An interest we apparently share. Tell me, Ash, what Pokémon do you have?"

Ash blinked at the question. "Deino, Horsea, Gible, Dratini, Sandile, Larvitar, Cleffa, Axew, Bagon, and Trapinch. Well, Vibrava now. Why?"

Bill just hummed. "You know, Samuel told me that you were on your way to be a dragon trainer. He said you wanted to exclusively work with dragons. But that's not right. Is it?"

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. Out of ten, seven of his team members were dragons, or going to become dragons. Even if he had a few others, it should have been obvious that he was a dragon trainer.

Bill tilted his head slightly. "I wonder if you even realize it." He muttered, more to himself than to Ash. "Tell me, when you were sitting on your bed, in your room, before you became a trainer, what type were you wanting to specialize in?"

"Dragons." Ash answered automatically.

Bill just peered at him. "That's almost true." He agreed, "but that was your second thought, wasn't it?"

Ash kept his face blank to keep himself from blushing heavily. He didn't admit it to anyone, but he hadn't wanted to be a dragon trainer originally. He had wanted something else, something that would have gotten him weird looks and whispers behind his back for the rest of his life. What kind of sick kid wanted a dark type team?

Bill nodded. "We're similar in that. I dreamed about becoming a powerful dark type trainer, but I settled for a different path. Now, I am studying Pokémon who are aggressive, and what causes it. I was too afraid to be judged to go after what I wanted."

Ash bit his lip. He was happy with his choice, dragons were his passion, and the type he had always understood the best. But dark types... they held a forbidden allure to them. They were elegant where dragons were regal. They were mischievous where dragons were haughty.

"Samuel told me that you started with Deino, right? He's a dragon, sure, but he's also primarily a dark type. That's why you haven't let yourself realize what you've been subconsciously building. You do have a dragon team, but you're halfway to having a dark type team as well."

"So what?" Ash snapped, "I like dark types, steel types, even ground types. That doesn't mean that I have to become strictly a steel type trainer or a ground type one. You want me to admit that I wished that I could have a dark type team instead of a dragon one? You want me to admit that I hate myself for wishing that sometimes, I hate the path I'm on?"

Bill's eyes softened, "Ash, no one can tell you what Pokémon you can and can't catch. Samuel told me that he was worried about you, because you have been more distant than usual since you left. Do you honestly think that he, or anyone who actually cares about you, would care if you had a dark team?"

"You don't understand. The League is already watching me. They are looking for an excuse to take away my Pokémon! Why would I want to draw even more attention to myself by getting a dark team?" Ash wished he could believe Bill, but the reality was, he could only get away with so much.

Dark type trainers were known as the cursed trainers. Everywhere they went, disaster followed. There were so few trainers who would use dark type teams, simply because the whispers would never stop. A dark type trainer was cursed to never stop, never rest, never settle down. If they tried, they would be shunned out of normal society. There were only five that he knew of, Karen, an apprentice for the Indigo League, Sidney, an Elite Four trainer in Hoenn, Grimsley of Unova's E4, Piers of Galar's Spikemuth City Gym, and Nanu of Ula'ula Island in Alola. That was it.

There was a reason there were so few. Dark types were known to snap and kill their trainers when they evolved, often driven to insanity from the process. Every few months it seemed like he heard of another trainer being killed by an out of control dark type.

There was a very good chance that either Barastyr, Anubis, or Icelos could kill him when they evolved into their final form.

"You know your team, and yourself. Do you honestly think that your Deino will go into blood lust and kill you when it evolves into a Hydreigon?" Bill asked, voice almost gentle.

Ash glanced down at Barastyr, who growled and snarled at the suggestion that he would ever hurt his trainer. "I... I'm sure that no one else thought that their Pokémon would snap."

Bill raised an eyebrow at that. "You know, there's a certain energy in every trainer, one particular type that they will be able to connect with more than any other. Mine is dark, but I was too afraid when I was younger to admit it. I'm too set in my ways to change now, but you? You know the team you crave. That doesn't mean you can't have a dragon team too. It just means that you don't want to be a dragon trainer. You want to be both a dragon trainer and a dark trainer." The older teen met his eyes, "Frankly, we don't have enough duel type trainers out there, and I think it would do the world good to see a young trainer working with both types."

Ash watched him but stayed quiet. Could he? Could he really have both a dark team and a dragon team? Could he really use both, and not neglect either? He tried to imagine it, one team with a Hydreigon, Dragonite, Salamence, Kingdra, Haxorus, Garchomp, and Flygon, and another with dark types, led by Anubis, Barastyr, and Icelos.

Bill clapped again, "enough of that, let's go get our other troublemaker before we talk to Samuel about Fearow, alright? Everything else can wait a bit?"

Ash followed silently as they walked. It was only ten minutes, but he knew his team was trying to figure out how they could help him. Pandora had taken to lightly scratching his head and pulling his hair, Barastyr stood even closer on his right, constantly butting lightly against his side. Hades tried pointing out everything he saw. Icelos tried to trip him every so often. He hated that he had worried his Pokémon enough that they were trying to comfort him, but he had to think.

When they got to the pond. Ash knelt down and peered into the water, trying to figure out what was hiding in the depths. Probably a Poliwhirl, Krabby, or Goldeen. He doubted it would be any of the other water types native to Kanto. Most of them just wanted to be left alone.

A jet of water splashed up, hitting him in the face and forcing him back. Pandora fell off his head as he fell over, landing hard on his back. He pushed himself up and scowled at the water. He was completely drenched.

He recalled Icelos, who would have a heck of a time against a water type, and Hades, always careful with his dragons, and sent out Oceanius instead. The Horsea trumpeted at him, and he just pointed to the water. None of his Pokémon were good in the water. None, except for Oceanius that is. If the Pokémon wanted a water battle, it was going to deal with an irritated Hosea.

Oceanius nodded to him, and jumped in the water, eyes sparkling in amusement. Ash glared at the water. His Horsea, his second Pokémon, had been laughing at him. Oceanius thought it was hilarious that his trainer couldn't handle a little bit of water. Ash made a mental note to make sure someone had extra-long Waterfall training tonight. Maybe, Oceanius could help them play target practice too. His Horsea needed to work on his evasion after all.

Ash waited, knowing that this wouldn't take very long. Whatever was under the water was no match for Oceanius. Still, the minutes ticked by with no clear sign of his Pokémon, or the one Oceanius had been sent to fight.

He sat down letting Barastyr crawl into his lap. Bill hummed a tune under his breath as he moved from foot to foot. He didn't seem worried in the slightest, but that didn't put Ash at ease.

Whatever was going on was deep enough that he couldn't see anything. The light seemed to be absorbed by the water. It took Ash a second to recognize that something had used Smoke Screen underwater. He thought it might have been Oceanius in hunter mode, but something wasn't quite right with that either. Either Oceanius was playing with something, or something was playing with him.

It took almost ten minutes for him to get his answer. Something shot out of the water, landing harshly on the ground by Ash. Barastyr growled at the beaten lump, and Oceanius jumped out after he sent up his present.

Ash blinked at the lump. It was blue, frog like, with large golden eyes, one of which was swollen shut, and a white mane of bubbles around its neck. Huh.

Bill seemed to be just as surprised as he was but seemed to accept it pretty easily. "A Froakie. Huh, it was probably abandoned somewhere around here."

Ash couldn't believe it. He knew that people abandoned their starters sometimes, or their starters abandoned them. Sometimes, it was because the personality was too much for a new trainer to handle, but sometimes, it was because they weren't growing fast enough. He knew that people abandoned their starters, one in ten did actually, but it didn't make it any less stunning for him. He could never give up his starter. He would never abandon Barastyr, or any of his team. It didn't matter that they were weak right now, they were growing at the rate they were supposed to.

However, Froakie was one of the most abandoned starter Pokémon in the world, right up there with Litten, Charmander, and, funnily enough, Snivy. All Pokémon had their own personalities, but those four had some of the most extreme on the planet. Charmander always went through a rebellious stage, where they didn't listen to their trainer if they sensed weakness. Snivy were regal and required the best from life. Litten and Froakie on the other hand, had other reasons.

Sometimes, it wasn't about who the Pokémon were, but what they were. Trainers in Alola were especially bad about trying to take the dark type personality traits from Litten. Whenever it would display something dark, it would be punished. Froakie were naturally mischievous and held grudges like no other. Even if they wouldn't gain their dark typing until they fully evolved, they still acted like a dark type. Similar to how Oceanius was a pure water type, yet he acted like a dragon type, even though it would be a long time before he became a dragon.

This one could have been abandoned for a number of reasons, it was smaller than usual, trainers liked big Pokémon or cute Pokémon, or it could have been because it acted more like a dark type than most.

Ash sighed to himself, he pitied the poor Pokémon. It didn't deserve to be thrown away like a cheap toy. He pulled another Pokéball from his belt and primed it, before walking over to Froakie, kneeling down, and taping it gently. The Pokémon had already taken enough of a beating from Oceanius to put up much of a fight, however it still struggled for almost twenty seconds. It must have been incredibly stubborn. Still, the capture proved successful as the ball stopped shaking and clicked into place.

Ash picked it up and it vanished back to Professor Oak's lab. Still, he had solved Bill's problem, and as soon as he transferred Fearow over, he could figure out where to go next.

To his surprise, Bill had a little smile on his face, as if he was smug about something. Ash felt himself twitching in anger. Something about that smile made him angry. When they got to the cottage, Bill strode in, being greeted by a small, petite Clefairy and a rumbling snore from a tired Growithe. He instantly scooped up the Clefairy and poked her on the ear. She giggled easily.

Ash considered releasing Pandora for a moment. She wouldn't get to see others of her species very often, but he also knew that she would be too busy sitting on his head to care about the Clefairy.

Finally, they reached the lab, a building attached to the back of his cottage. It was far different from the simple, homey design of the house. Every single surface shined and gleaned. It was filled with lab equipment, electronics that had no idea how to use, and tools, so, so many tools. There were piles on piles of papers on and near the desk, showing Ash just how busy the man seemed to be.

Thankfully, he did recognize one piece of equipment: a Video Phone with a transporter next to it. With it, he could send any Pokémon to Professor Oak, and he could get any Pokémon he had at the ranch. As soon as Bill gestured for him to take a seat, he pulled out his Pokénav and plugged it in. Opening the contacts list, he selected Professor Oak's name, and it started ringing.

Sure enough, the cheery old man answered within thirty seconds, waving happily at the two of them. He had the Professor give temporary custody of Fearow over to Bill, an easy enough process.

But once it was done, Ash felt dread fill his stomach. He only had a few more days before he had to go back to seven Pokémon, and he doubted he would make it back to Cerulean before the time limit. That meant it was time for him to make up his mind.

He excused himself for a few minutes, knowing that he had to talk to his team so that they would all know what was happening, and wouldn't think that he was leaving any of them behind. He left the lab through the side door, and released three of his Pokémon, excluding Barastyr, who was already out of his Pokéball.

He sat down on the grass and they gathered around him. "I know you guys have heard me talk about the max limit before. Mine is usually seven, not ten. Because of that, I'm going to have to send a few of you to stay with Professor Oak for a little while. Pandora, you, Megara, and Nephthys are going to the Ranch."

His three girls all protested loudly, but he held up a hand. "It doesn't mean you aren't as strong as the others; it just means I can trust you guys to keep up your training without me breathing down your neck. Nephthys, you still need a little more time to heal before you can come with me. Megara, you are strong enough to keep any new Pokémon in place, and not let them walk all over any of you. Pandora, baby girl, as much as I want to keep you with me, right now, the others need me more. Besides, I'm going to rotate you guys every time I get to a new town. I promise I'll see you guys soon. I promise I'll spend some time with you, figuring out how much you guys have grown, in a little while."

They weren't happy about it, Pandora shot him puppy dog eyes, but they all seemed to understand. He gave them one last smile, before recalling them again. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Barastyr's soft blue fur for a few seconds. His starter understood how much he had antagonizing over his decision.

He had to keep the most violent Pokémon with him. That was the rules. Which meant Barastyr, Anubis, Icelos, and Viridios had to stay with him. Oceanius was extremely close to evolving, Hades was unsure of his position, and Silvanus would probably end up joining the others at the ranch in exchange for Froakie. He nibbled on his lip. He really didn't like the idea of leaving Froakie without at least meeting him first.

Maybe, just maybe, he should send over Silvanus as well. It would be good for the clingy Pokémon to spend some time away from him, and hopefully, at the ranch, he could gain some independence.

He blinked back self-loathing and forced himself to let Silvanus out so that they could have a quick talk. He had to hurry this up, otherwise Bill might go looking for him.

Sil formed with a giant yawn and blinked his black eyes at him.

"I need to send you to Professor Oak's ranch. Someone has to protect the girls, and I know you can handle them. I'm going to be trusting you and Neph to keep any new Pokémon we get in line, and to keep any bullies away from our team."

Silvanus stared at him, eyes welling up as he launched himself at Ash. He didn't want to go. He would become stronger, if he stayed.

Ash scratched just behind Sil's horns, and sighed. "Look, bud, I have to trust the Pokémon who I'm transferring to keep up with their training. In turn, you all have to trust me to come back for you. I'm still going to be challenging gyms with just dragons, but that means you need to keep working and growing stronger until I can switch someone else for you. Besides, I know you'll eat Professor Oak out of house and home, but he has several berry trees hidden around the ranch waiting for Pokémon who are smart enough to come find them. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know that I can leave you for a couple of weeks, max, and have you more than ready for me when it's time for us to beat Surge."

He might go back and beat the Waterflower sisters first, so he could spend some extra time with his dragons, but he knew that they would be fine. Silvanus sniffed at him, begging him to change his mind, but he shook his head. "Sorry bud, I have to."

With a look of resignation on his face, Silvanus nodded slightly ash scratched him again. "It'll be hard to not have you with me, bud, but I'll see you soon." He returned the sand shark Pokémon with the push of a button. He knew that his Pokémon hated being separated, but he didn't have a choice at the moment. Once he could successfully say he had five badges, though, well, that would be another story.

He dusted himself off and headed back inside. Barastyr had gone quiet, knowing how hard this was going to be for his trainer.

As soon as he reentered the lab, both men exchanged looks. "Are you ready, Ash?" Professor Oak asked him carefully.

Ash nodded. "I'm sending over four, Gible, Dratini, Cleffa, and Bagon in exchange for one, Froakie. I think he should spend some time with the rest of my team before he stays at the lab."

He hated himself for it, but the Professor simply gestured for him to put the first Pokéball on the transporter. Neph was first, then Megara, followed by Pandora, and lastly Silvanus. Luckily for him, Oak released all four as soon as they arrived, so that Ash could see for himself that they were okay. He also placed a Pokéball on his side, and it materialized next to Ash.

Nephthys trilled at him through the screen, Megara bowed, Pandora pouted, and Silvanus waved sadly. "I'll see you guys later. Be good for the professor." He told them; eyes glued to his Pokémon. He hated that they were so sad, but rules were rules.

He nodded to the Professor and turned off the machine, clicking Froakie's Pokéball to his belt. When he was done, he turned to Barastyr, who rubbed himself against Ash's leg.

"You ready then, Bara?" He asked quietly. Barastyr nodded easily. He was more than ready to get back into the wild.

Bill cleared his throat. "Actually, we're not done just yet. I owe you a reward for catching both Froakie and Fearow. Firstly, for Fearow." The man pulled a box out from his desk and handed it over.

Ash opened it, astonished by what he saw. In it, there were ten ultra-balls, ten luxury balls, ten quick balls, and, most importantly, a small, black shard. His jaw dropped, as his eyes moved from Bill to the Clefairy in his arms.

The researcher shrugged, understanding the silent question. "Sophia doesn't want to evolve again. Both she and I are happy with her staying a Clefairy for the rest of her life. With what we do, we have plenty of firepower already. As for the Pokéballs, well, they aren't doing anyone any good just sitting here, gathering dust. I have plenty more should I suddenly gain the urge to add someone to my team. But that's just for Fearow. Sadly, Froakie's capture doesn't have nearly as interesting as a prize."

This time, he pulled two Pokéball out of his pockets, holding one in each hand. "If you pick the left one, then you will get another dark type. That means you have decided to embrace both sides of you, both dragon and dark. If you pick the one on the right, that means you want to have only dragons, and that you have dedicated your entire self to just them. You only get one, Ash, so choose wisely."

Ash stared at both of the Pokéballs. He had no idea what was in either, or if he would get along with either Pokémon. He hated having the choice hanging over his shoulders. He hated how much he wanted the choice that Bill was offering him, to be both, a dual type trainer.

He grimaced and made his choice.


	13. Chapter 13

Here's our list of everyone

On Hand:

Deino- Barastyr

Horsea- Oceanius

Sandile- Anubis

Larvitar- Icelos

Axew- Hades

Vibrava- Viridios

Froakie- Triton

Litten- Erebus

At the Lab:

Cleffa- Pandora

Bagon- Megara

Dratini- Nephthys

Gible- Silvanus

On Loan:

Fearow (M) (With Bill)

* * *

Chapter 13

Ash grinned to himself, amused beyond belief as he watched the Pokémon interact as he set up camp for the night. Most of them were exhausted already, even partly asleep in the case of Hades.

Still, it was interesting to see how well his team fit together. It had been just about a month since he had left Pallet town, and he was finally loving his life. He had spent the last week exploring Route 25 and 24, slowly making his way back towards Cerulean. It was interesting to see how just a month could make so much of a difference.

His team was mostly the same, Viridios trying to eat Oceanius, with Anubis trying to eat him, Icelos trying to beat the crap out of Barastyr, so on and so forth. Some things had changed drastically, such as Viridios learning how to sneak up on the others with his wings. The Pokémon enjoyed flying a lot more than anyone expected him to. He wasn't very good at it, but he loved it.

At the moment, Barastyr was hiding behind him, trying to stay out of sight of the others. His starter had definitely been embracing his dark typing the last few days, and that meant he was becoming more jealous, and valuing his space a lot more than he used to.

Anubis was getting more and more angry with every passing day. His rage was building, and he was just waiting for a good fight to let it out, so that he could evolve. Even though Ash knew that Anubis would never intentionally hurt him, he was getting wary letting the croc fight anything. He had almost managed to remove a plate from a Rhyhorn a few hours prior, and needed a strong fight that would back him into a corner.

Oceanius was waiting for something too, and whatever it was, the water type refused to tell him. He was at a bit of a loss on how to help Oceanius evolve when he didn't know why the Pokémon was refusing. If he didn't evolve in the next day or so, Ash knee he would have to talk to Professor Oak.

Viridios was his usual manic self, still cackling often, now as he swooped down from treetops or other high places he could perch. Honestly, if Ash hadn't known better, he would have said that Viridios was some sort of ghost/ dark type hybrid instead of a dragon/ground one. Still, his spirits were high, and he hadn't maimed anyone just yet, so Ash called it a win.

Hades was his usual breath of calmness. The Pokémon may have been his most inquisitive, but he was also the most levelheaded. He wasn't constantly suppressing rage, like most of the others. Instead, Hades just asked about something, then let it go and moved onto something else. He just, well, relaxed into himself. He was a bit of a loner but got along with almost all of Ash's Pokémon. He had no grudges that Ash could see.

Icelos was probably one of his most violent Pokémon, right up there with Anubis and Viridios. He fought each battle like it was the last one he ever would. While most Larvitar were skittish and timid, his was, well, not. Icelos didn't particularly care for any of his team, but he was extremely protective over them. If someone managed to knock out one of the others, and he sent Icelos out after, Icelos would decimate whoever had dared to touch his team members. He was a weird mixture of clingy and distant that only seemed to work for him.

Froakie was always busy, always moving, and always restless. He had a big attitude that didn't match his smaller body. He had challenged all of Ash's Pokémon by this point and seemed to especially enjoy egging Anubis on to the point that he would almost get bitten. He was also getting close to evolving, not that Ash was surprised. The little frog had been strong when Ash caught him and had taken to their training practices better than he expected. He was also picky, more so than any of Ash's others. After at least a hundred name choices, the Froakie had finally agreed on a name, Triton. Why he liked that better than Poseidon or Hydros, Ash had no idea, but it was what the little frog wanted.

The last member with him was a small black and red cat like Pokémon with large golden eyes. Litten, or Erebus, was by far his laziest Pokémon. He napped as often as he could and simply wanted to take it as easy as he could. Which was why Ash had been so surprised when Erebus had worked just as hard as Triton was.

He had been so stunned when he saw what had been in the left Pokéball. Not that Ash hadn't wondered about the other Pokémon, but he had made his choice, and it was a hard one. In all official League battles, so gyms and the actual Conference, he would only use his dragons.

Any other time, and the rest of his Pokémon were fair game.

Barastyr yawned and moved closer to Ash. He hadn't expected Bill to change his license, again, to hold eight Pokémon. Granted, it was only a temporary thing, at the moment but he was grateful that Bill had been able to persuade him to go after what he really wanted.

He was more at peace with it, and his team was feeding off of it. He was happy with his team, and frankly couldn't wait until it was time for him to enter the Conference itself, where he would be able to have all of his team together. Then again, there were other ways to prove that someone was capable of handling all of their Pokémon, but that was something for later. Way, way later.

Hades yawned loudly, and Barastyr grumbled in agreement. They were exhausted but satisfied from training and more than ready for dinner.

Ash chuckled quietly and started pulling out the Pokéfood bowls. Once they were set up, he filled each one up, some further than others, and put a few berries on top. His team pounced as soon as he stepped back and started eating. He rolled his eyes slightly. Really, someone who didn't know any better would think that his Pokémon hadn't eaten in a week from the way that they were acting.

While they were busy stuffing their faces, Ash got out his usual grooming supplies and laid them out. Most of his team had scales and tough hides which needed careful care to make sure that they didn't crack as the Pokémon grew. The others had fur; Erebus had the softest fur while Barastyr had short, mostly coarse hair covering the majority of his body.

He tried to groom his team at least every other day, and today was the day his starter and Erebus would get a little bit of extra time. It was important to him that his team was in the best possible shape that they could be, especially after Misty's accusations.

They were taking their time heading towards Cerulean. At this point, he wasn't sure if he wanted to challenge the gym yet or not. While most people thought that the Waterflower sisters were pushovers, Ash really wanted to be able to fight them when he could actually put up a fight. He knew that he could always wrap back around to Cerulean once one of his bigger dragons gained their wings. Megara and Nephthys would easily be able to handle him. It would take forever for poor Barastyr to finally get his wings though. It would happen, eventually, but having to ride a Salamence and Dragonite instead of a Hydreigon wasn't too much of a downgrade.

Ash could easily admit that he wasn't particularly worried about getting his badges. He still had plenty of time, and to him, it was more important to train up his team than wander around and fight gym leaders. Of course, the chances of him ever competing in the Indigo League Conference without having all eight badges was nonexistent, but he wasn't worried.

He had no doubt that Gary and the others had already moved on, past Surge, possibly Erika, because they were focused on the badges themselves. Blake, Vesper, and Lillian would probably go half and half, with some minor gym badges and only a few major ones. There was no way Lillian or Blake would challenge Sabrina or Giovanni, and Vesper would be hesitating when it came to fighting Blaine.

Gary would probably get all of the major badges, and most of the minor ones as well. He was obsessed with the tokens of power and success.

Ash wasn't going to bother with the minor gyms. He wanted to go head to head with the major leaders, but he would take his time. His dragons had grown a lot, and he was extremely proud of them, but they still had a lot of growing to do before the league started. He wasn't going to be one of those people who thought that they were strong yet lost in the first round of the competition.

No, he was going to take his time. He was going to work hard, and still take his time to explore the world he lived in. He huffed quietly to himself, getting a weird look from several of his Pokémon. It wasn't fair that he had to get his gym badges in such a rushed amount of time. They didn't do anything except tell people that he had won against someone who was going easy on him. The early badges were insulting almost.

Yes, there was technically no way for a new trainer to win against a veteran team, but that didn't make the victory any less bitter. He knew the rules, and he knew the consequences of the leaders not holding back, but if he was going to lose or win, he wanted it to be a fight worth taking on.

He sighed again and pulled his Pokénav out of his pocket. His team needed to train. Yes, they had been working practically all day, but so many of them were so close to evolving that he knew they just needed another push.

Instead, he put it back in his pocket and simply cleaned up around the campsite and worked on getting a fire started. He had already gathered the wood earlier, and just had to arrange it and the stones to the correct shape. Well, actually, he had Icelos gather branches with Triton while the others were scouting to make sure they didn't enter a strong Pokémon's territory.

He didn't want to wake up to a rampaging Primeape or something like that. He had forgotten to scout a few times, especially lately, and it always ended badly. Funny enough, he had actually stumbled across a very possessive Weepinbell's territory and woke up being lifted by Bellsprout, about to be sacrificed.

Okay, it was more like they stepped foot, root?, into his campsite and Ash's Pokémon went wild on them before being attacked by a Weepinbell, who wasn't happy it's minions were being attacked. Some Pokémon were hilarious.

Ash couldn't stop the snicker from escaping him, and Icelos gave him a death glare. Poor Icelos had been caught by the large grass type, thanks to a vine whip, and juggled by it. His pride was still smarting.

Poor, poor Icelos. Barastyr was never going to let him live it down.

A soft, warm head butted gently into his side, jolting him out of his thoughts. Erebus purred quietly and spit a flame at the group of sticks, lighting it instantly. He gave the Litten a small smile and pet his head softly.

Yeah, he could get used to this.

Ash happily caressed Silvanus as the Gible attached himself to his human's leg. Finally, in the Pokémon center in Cerulean City, and he was reunited with his dragons. He had missed all of them more than he ever thought possible.

Silvanus had glomped him as soon as his Pokéball had been switched for Triton. Ash scratched his horns happily, ignoring the looks he was getting. He had missed the little dragon and he saw no reason to deny it. He still had one more transfer to make, Nephthys for Icelos as soon as he was done cuddling the blue dragon.

As much as he wanted Megara at his side, when it came to battling, he trusted some of the others more. However, he did trust her more than Nephthys. The problem was that he wanted to trust her, and he could only do that if she could prove to him that she wanted to be on his team. If this went the way he expected it to, he would send his little princess to the ranch, where she would be happier, and just battle with the others instead.

He would be switching Megara for one of the others after they were done at the gym. He wasn't sure how he would make it work, but he wanted to make sure they all got attention.

Depending on the sisters, he would be using Hades and Nephthys, with Oceanius as his backup. He really, really didn't want to use his strongest trio. Oceanius, Anubis, and Viridios would crush any weaker Pokémon, and he didn't want that. He knew that his other Pokémon needed a chance to have battles that would push them to their limits.

After a few seconds, he mentally shook his head. No, he wanted to use Megara as well, instead of Oceanius, and that meant switching the two of them. He could have switched Viridios, but that was a disaster waiting to happen.

As soon as Silvanus settled at his side, he turned back to the video phone. Professor Oak was watching him with a smug, yet surprised look on his aged features.

"You know, Ash, I wasn't expecting him to settle down so easily. You have such excitable Pokémon that I was slightly worried for them. I think I get it now. I take it you told them to train while they were here?"

Ash shrugged. "Well, yeah I didn't want them to fall behind the others."

The Professor hummed quietly. "You know that the others already have at least three badges each, correct?"

"Of course. Dragons take longer to raise to a battle appropriate level. Besides, I'm not in a rush. We still have a lot of time before the conference. I could have hurt my Pokémon if I battled them too early." Ash wasn't sure how many times he had told that to Gary over the years.

The others were speeding their way across Kanto. For his dragon's sake, he was taking his time. If it wasn't for Oceanius, Anubis, and Viridios he wouldn't even be trying this gym. As much as he trusted his Pokémon, he knew that these three Pokémon were tired of being held back by the others. They wanted stronger fights, and to do that, they would need some badges.

The others would have to keep up or get mowed over.

Ash had faith that Barastyr and Icelos could keep up, as they were growing faster than he expected, but he was more worried about the others. In terms of power, Viridios was the strongest, followed by Oceanius, Anubis, Barastyr, Icelos, Silvanus, Hades, Nephthys, Megara, Triton, Pandora, and Erebus.

Viridios only took first place because his evolution put him ahead of his teammates, but as soon as Oceanius or Anubis evolved, it was anyone's guess who would outdo the others. They were both so close to being ready.

Ash blinked, before releasing Anubis from his Pokéball. The sand croc hissed angrily and snapped his jaws, making several of the other trainers scream and back away. "Professor, Anubis and Oceanius have been ready to evolve for a while, but they can't seem to get over that last hump. Is it normal for their species to have trouble evolving?"

He angled the camera down to show the spitting mad croc. Anubis snapped his jaws at Silvanus, who just snapped back. Ash quickly recalled the Gible, knowing that Anubis was in the worst mood to deal with his teammates.

The Sandile seemed to see the Professor and hissed angrily at him.

"Well, he certainly has enough aggression built up to evolve, Ash. He must be holding himself back. He's a large, aggressive male, and I would hate to have him around the Ranch, but maybe he needs to spend some time alone to evolve."

Ash watched his partner, who seemed to relax slightly at the Professor's words. "Well, Anubis? Do you want to go to the Ranch for a little while? Is that what you want?"

Anubis seemed to consider the words carefully. Ash could tell that his Pokémon wanted to go, but the Sandile shook his head slightly. Clarity filled Ash. Anubis would be struggling with his protective instincts, as well as his need to tear something apart. The Sandile's instincts wouldn't let him leave his trainer with Pokémon he didn't trust, and right now, that was most of his team, especially Viridios.

"Okay. You can stay if you want to, Anu." He crouched down next to the Pokémon and scratched his head. Ash was the only one Anubis would let even get close to him right now. Still, the young trainer could see Anubis fighting with himself to allow the touch instead of biting off the hand touching him. "Would you be okay if I let Oceanius out so that the Professor can take a look at him, or would you rather go back in your Pokéball?"

After a few seconds of indecision, Anubis turned his massive snout towards Ash's belt. He easily recalled Anubis and sent out Oceanius instead.

His water type Pokémon trumpeted in greeting as he bounced into Ash's arms. Oceanius was always happiest when he was the only one of Ash's Pokémon out. The switch seemed to make the entire Pokémon center relax slightly. They were unaware just how dangerous Oceanius could be when provoked.

It only took a few seconds for Oceanius to spot the Professor and the two of them locked eyes for a minute, before sending the older man a dismissive glance and focusing on Ash again. The boy just laughed at his Pokémon. Only Oceanius.

"Professor, this is Oceanius." He introduced. "He and Anubis are the two who are the most physically ready to evolve of my team."

The Professor laughed heartily, tears stinging his eyes. It took almost a full minute for the older man to calm down enough to speak. "He's just stubborn. He likes being a Horsea, I'm sure, and doesn't want to become a Seadra. It honestly seems like he had maxed out what he can do as a Horsea, so I would be surprised if he didn't get frustrating soon and evolve simply so he can outdo someone else." The Professor took a few breaths to even himself out. "He reminds me of my Alakazam. Even when he was an Abra, he had an attitude problem, and his stubbornness only multiplied when he evolved. The poor thing only decided to become a Kadabra when he was asleep and got hit by an acorn on the head. It never would have happened if he was awake and hasn't happened since."

"So, he's just being stubborn? That's it?" Ash couldn't believe that his Pokémon was worrying him because he was simply not wanting to evolve. Oceanius's eyes glinted when they met his. Then again, Oceanius was probably the most stubborn Pokémon he had, even if he was the most regal and well behaved.

He supposed he could understand it. Oceanius was proud of what he had accomplished as a Horsea, and as long as he could keep up with the other two, he wouldn't want to evolve. If anyone beat him, however, that might be enough for his Pokémon to snap.

They needed to fight some stronger opponents. And quickly.

He held Oceanius for a few more seconds, before recalling him as well. "I'm sending him and Icelos your way so that I can get Nephthys and Megara. Don't let them out of their Pokéballs. Icelos will break something and Oceanius will try to poison you. I'll take them back as soon as I can."

Ash felt a tinge of regret as he sent the two Pokémon, but he knew that this was the best for all of them. Besides, he needed to spend some time with all of his girls, and he was probably going to have Pandora with him when he left Cerulean. It was only fair that the others got a chance to spend some time with their trainer.

As soon as he was done, he said his goodbyes and headed out again. He had six dragons with him at the moment, and his two dark types of course, but his team was mainly dragons.

It only took a few minutes for him to reach the gym again, all shining glass walls and tanks filled with Pokémon from every region. As soon as he walked in, the door dinged overhead, making the secretary jump up from where she had been napping at her desk.

Violet was apparently working the desk. She blinked at him, surprise in her features. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting him to be back, but there he was.

"I'm here for a gym battle." He said shortly, stomping down his excitement and anxiety.

She blinked again. "I thought you were going to challenge Surge first, or at least that's what everyone's expecting you to do."

"I will, when I get to Vermillion. Right now, I'm challenging you." He said easily, before pausing. "Or whichever one of you is acting as the Leader at the moment, I guess."

She shrugged and tossed her blue hair over her shoulders. "Lily is taking challenges right now. Give her a few more minutes to finish up with the kid she's beating, then she'll deal with you."

Ash nodded, eyes moving to a screen above the desk. It certainly seemed like Lily was going to win. The other trainer, a girl with red curls and green eyes, had sent out a Tentacruel, with too many legs to count and a large, blue, gel like body.

Lily had a Starmie that was playing around with the girl's Pokémon. It was out of the girl's league, something obvious to any trainer who knew what they were doing.

From the Pokémon, Ash guessed the girl had come in with a few badges already, possibly two or three, and had dived in the deep end. He could tell that this was a Pokémon that Lily was comfortable using, but it wasn't on her true team. It was too weak for that, even if it was stronger than the girl they were fighting.

"How many badges does she have?" Ash couldn't help but ask. Everyone was rushing for their badges, some going for one every week or less if they had a flying type Pokémon.

"Three. She was being cocky and trying to say that all of the Pokémon here were first gym leader levels." Violet answered, picking up a nail file from her desk as she inspected her hands.

"Ah. Lily didn't take it well?"

She shrugged easily. "Frankly, she deserves to lose. She forced her Tentacruel to evolve too early, and its supposedly her strongest Pokémon. Starmie will put it in its place."

Sure enough, two minutes and a Psywave later, Daisy called the match in favor of her sister. Ash was a bit surprised when the challenger burst into tears and tried to run out of the gym, only to be caught at the edge of the float. She hardly waited for it to go back to the starting position.

Ash was disgusted with her behavior. He understood, losing was hard, but to burst into tears and not be able to pull yourself together was simply unacceptable. It made him wonder how she had gotten her trainers license.

He watched calmly as she rushed past him, tears streaming out of her face as she bolted away. Being a trainer meant that one had to have at least some emotional control, because they were responsible for more than just their lives. She was overly emotional, and that meant that her Pokémon could suffer.

The other two sisters came through the doorway, chatting contentedly amongst themselves. He cleared his throat, trying to catch their attention. Daisy and Lily glanced around the room. Ash could tell exactly when they caught sight of him, because they ended up freezing.

He waved awkwardly in greeting, waiting for them to restart their brains so that he could have the battle he wanted so badly. He wasn't sure why they were so surprised to see him back when they knew he hadn't gotten the Cascade Badge yet. "Hey guys."

The sisters exchanged dark looks. "If the Runt finds out that your here, she'll kick your ass." Daisy told him.

He shrugged. "She challenged me, and she's the one who screwed up, not me."

Violet sighed to herself, leaning her head on her palm. "You know that you already have the Cascade Badge in the eyes of the league, right?"

"For that?" There was no way he would take the badge for a battle where the gym leaders starter retreated and had clearly been neglected. He would rather take on a minor gym than take a badge from Misty.

"Rules are rules. As our apprentice, when you beat her, you get a badge. Your trainers license should have said you got the badge a few weeks ago." Lilly said easily.

Ash scowled at that. "Any chance I can get a rematch then?"

The three of them exchanged looks again, before shrugging again. "I'll take you on, but I'm going to be using a stronger team than Misty used." Lilly warned, eyes hardening slightly.

Ash nodded. "That's fine. My team is ready."

He followed her into the main gym, not at all surprised to see her sisters behind him. This was going to be interesting.

Ash kept his balance as he stepped onto the raft, barely moving as he was moved out into the giant pool. This felt more like a gym battle than the temper tantrum that Misty had thrown during their battle. His team was solid, his strategy was adaptable, and his Pokémon were ready to fight.

Daisy took her place in the center with two flags, one red for Ash's side, and a blue one for her sister. "This battle will be four on four. Substitutions are allowed on the challenger's side only. The first one to have all of their opponents Pokémon unconscious wins. Leader Lily, send out your first Pokémon." And with that she stepped back.

Lily grabbed a Pokéball from her side and tossed it forward. The Pokémon came out in a white beam, and the Pokéball slapped back into her hand, which placed it back on her belt.

Ash took a few seconds to look at it. The Pokémon was large, blue with white gloves covering its hands, and had a black and white spiral on its stomach. A Poliwhirl was a potentially powerful threat. They could fight out of water just as well as they could fight in it. His Pokémon had never fought something so powerful before.

He wanted to stick with his original strategy, but he was hesitant. There was no way Megara would have been able to fight something like that. No way at all. Hades, on the other hand...

Hades would be able to do some damage. If all of their Pokémon were around this level, he'd have to do some mental shuffling, but he could do it.

He picked his own choice and released Hades onto the field, before placing his Pokéball back in its usual spot. They were as ready as they could be.

The Axew blinked curiously at his opponent, tilting his head slightly to the side. The move normally made someone look like they were lost, but Hades used it in another way, one that only someone who knew the clever mind he had would notice.

The Pokémon turned slightly, just enough for Ash to see a familiar glint in his eyes. Ash grinned, and relaxed. Hades had an idea. Most dragons were smart, but some took it in different ways. In Hades case, he wasn't a prankster, like Icelos and Viridios, nor did he go after everything with his jaws, like Barastyr, Silvanus, and Viridios. No, he liked to play psychological games with his opponent, underperforming his moves to get them comfortable before striking heavily. It worked well for him, as he seemed to be just as clueless as any rock type.

Not many Pokémon realized how nasty Hades could be, especially with his Night Slash attack. But, it seemed like Poliwhirl would find out.

Daisy motioned for them to start, and he knew just how to begin. A little-known fact: Hades knew more attacks than anyone, save Viridios. He could fight up close and personal, or further away without having to get anywhere near their opponents. "Dragon Dance." He commanded simply, as his Pokémon started collecting the necessary energy.

It seemed like Lily wasn't even going to bother trying to distract him. Oh well, he thought with a mental sigh, her loss. It only took about five seconds for Hades to gather the draconic energy, which would boost several of his future attacks.

As soon as the energy was gathered, Hades took off, charging his opponent with one clawed hand glowing harshly. Hades scratched at the Poliwhirl with a toned down version of his usual dragon claw.

The Pokémon took the attack, not seeming that impressed, which was a shame for it. As much as Hades wanted to play, Ash just wanted his fight to be done. "Detonate." He whispered.

While poor Hades could only learn one fire type move, in the form of Incinerate, he had a love of explosions. Night slash was his favorite, to be sure, but it wasn't the only one he had. Ash had learned that Hades had great control over draconic energy, better than any of his other Pokémon, honestly. And with that, came the knowledge that Hades would focus on the energy he left behind after an attack and make it explode. The weaker the move, they had learned, the stronger the explosions ended up.

Hades had barely sliced through any of Poliwhirl's skin.

At his command, Hades jumped back, smirking as he landed next to Ash. As soon as his back paws touched the raft, Poliwhirl, well, exploded. It wasn't strong enough to kill the guppy Pokémon, but it had certainly hurt it pretty badly. It had been launched upwards towards the ceiling and crashed harshly, before falling roughly on the platform below.

Poliwhirl pushed itself up, panting roughly and bruised all over. Several ringlets of blood slowly fell as the Pokémon tried to recover.

He heard Lily yelling command after command, but Ash just waited. Hades had a plan after all.

Even if the Axew lost to this Pokémon, it wouldn't be without a fight. He rushed forward, dodging beams of water that could have hurt him. Once he was in the face of the Poliwhirl, he let lose another attack, blowing the Pokémon up again. This time, instead of going up and hitting the roof, it went sideways, hitting the psychic barrier instead.

Another cut, this one much longer and deeper, appeared on the Pokémon's body. Ash knew what had just happened: Hades had let loose a Night Slash but had done so without having the glow turn black. It was impossible for a Pokémon to dodge something they couldn't figure out.

He resisted the urge to shake his head at his little pyromaniac. It was both adorable and sad. It was also a great deterrent for some of his Pokémon. None of them wanted to get blasted by him.

Ignoring the yelling, Ash focused on Hades, taking notes on how quickly he charged his attacks and just how much more work they had to do. There were some things about being a trainer that he didn't understand and yelling out instructions that your opponent could hear was one of them. He had spent some time with most of his Pokémon and had gone over a strategy beforehand. With Neph, he knew that he would have to instruct her, but Hades knew what he was doing, and had no problem getting everything he wanted done.

Hades knew what his strongest moves were, and what moves he should avoid in an actual battle because they took too long to form. Ash had confidence that Hades would win this, hopefully before Poliwhirl got a chance to show off rather or not he knew an ice type move or not.

Sure enough, after almost seven minutes of turning Poliwhirl into a bouncy ball, Hades finally landed a proper Night Slash, proving that he was just playing the whole time. Ash tisked as Hades landed easily in front of him while Poliwhirl slammed once more on his platform, eyes swirling in unconsciousness.

The sisters were quiet as they took in the brutality that Hades loved to use. He was still weak, when it came to most of his moves, but Hades was a perfectionist. There was no way he would ever use a move in battle that he hadn't completed. They didn't know that though. They had no idea how many hours Hades had spent just learning how to manipulate the energy necessary for his two favorites.

Something glinted in Lily's eyes that wasn't there before. She had been trying to go easy on him, and she had been crushed by the ruthless dragon. She twirled a strand of her pink hair in her fingers as she considered what to do next. Unlike her sisters, she rarely used pure water types. Daisy preferred her pure water types, Violet didn't care, so long as they had some sort of extra power that she could use.

Lily's love was water Pokémon, of course, and ice types. She was a duel type leader, not that she used her others very often. Because of that, all of her Pokémon knew ice type moves, and she knew how to take down Ash's pesky Pokémon.

She reached for her second choice, Dewgong, and knew that this would change the entire battle. It wasn't her main teams Dewgong, it was her fifth one actually, but this one was newly evolved and would put up a fight. She sent it out, whispering her commands to use Ice beam as soon as she could lock onto her target. Aurora was nothing like Loki, her first Dewgong, but that didn't mean she was a pushover.

Hades hadn't been expecting the attack, which knocked him back into the water almost instantly.

Lily smiled to herself. If there was one thing Dragons hated, it was ice. Poor thing hadn't even stood a chance.

Ash instantly recalled Hades, knowing better than to let him flail in the water after a direct hit from a powerful Ice beam. He grimaced to himself. Ice types were one of the most frustrating Pokémon types in the world, and from the smile on the leaders lips, she knew it. He took a moment to think. He wanted to send out Neph next. She was the next Pokémon in his list to use, but she was a pure dragon, and Ash was hesitant. She was fast on land, but she was faster in the water, which she would probably seek out. If the Dewgong froze the water, he'd be in big trouble.

He took a calming breath and selected his next choice before he could think about it. Silvanus wasn't a smart move, normally, but he could still cause a good bit of damage. He had the ability to call a sandstorm, which would constantly hurt Dewgong and any other Pokémon that were on the field, so long as they weren't immune.

Silvanus formed in the light, moving constantly and never stopping. Ash took the chance to really look at his Pokémon for the first time in a long while. Something was different. Sure, he still charged randomly and tried to bite Dewgong's fins in order to slow it down. He was following his usual patterns, but something seemed off. Ash watched as his Pokémon used a rare ferocity to land hits on Dewgong.

The ice type opened its mouth, sending a frosty beam at Silvanus and making him slam against the wall, frozen in place by the attack. Ash sighed to himself as he lifted the Pokéball. He was forced to stop once his eyes locked onto Silvanus'. He still wanted to fight, and he wasn't about to be knocked out this early in the game.

His black eyes glowed red as a light engulfed the Land Shark Pokémon.

Ash felt his breath freeze in his lungs as he watched. He knew that several of his partners were nearing their evolutions, but he had no idea that Silvanus' patience had worn out with being simply a Gible. He watched in amazement as the once small Pokémon that was pretty much all mouth suddenly grew over twice the size he had been. His short, stubby hands and feet became longer, thin yet dangerous claws. The fin on his back grew almost three times the size it had been, and he grew three more fins, one on each arm and one on his tail. Several claw-like spikes emerged from the skin on his knees, adding to the predators dangerous aura.

The biggest change, however, was that his eyes were no longer the black pools that they had been, but golden with black surrounding them. He roared loudly in anger and broke the ice that had been holding him back. He was much bigger, around Ash's size now, and he moved in unsure, lagging steps.

Ash could see that Silvanus wanted nothing more than to charge and bite, but that strategy wouldn't work as well now that he had grown so much. Still unsure with his newly large limbs, Silvanus took a few seconds to stretch his arms, claws and legs, as he tried to focus on his new body.

Thankfully, Lily and her Dewgong seemed content to wait a few minutes for him to figure out how to move, before they dove back into the battle.

That round didn't last much longer, as a certain newly evolved Pokémon had an extra rush of hormones and energy running through his veins. Silvanus seemed surprised when he was able to knock out the Dewgong so easily.

Ash hid a smile. It seemed like someone had been training extensively while he was at the ranch. Like this, Silvanus would be a challenge for Viridios, Oceanius, and Anubis to take down. He was so glad to see that the shy, abused Gible he had gotten in Viridian had been able to become so strong. It had taken a lot of work, he knew, but it had paid off.

He was so proud.

As soon as they were done here, he would take Silvanus, Icelos, Viridios, Oceanius, Anubis, and Barastyr to see just where his Gabite landed in power compared to his others.

It only took another five or so minutes for Silvanus to take Dewgong down. His instincts led him to slash at the ice type, while his personality told him to bite down and not let go. Ash told himself that one day, he would take the time to learn why Pokémon battled differently depending on which form they were in.

Still, somehow, someway, his once clingy little Gible managed to defeat a pretty strong Dewgong. Ash held back a smile as he noticed a shaky, new, yet strangely strong attack from his friend. Silvanus had taught himself dual chop, and while it wasn't perfect yet, it was far more effective of a technique as a Gabite than it was for a Gible.

He was so proud. Every move, every attack, had a point. Silvanus seemed to be strategizing and had been waiting for just the right moment to prove his strength. And it worked too.

Lily was smiling finally, enjoying herself with a battle that made her blood sing as she recalled her second Pokémon. Her third choice was a little more surprising, a purple floating clam shell Pokémon, a Cloyster.

Silvanus growled viciously at the ice type, but Ash could see through it. He had gotten stronger, a lot stronger, but his burst of adrenaline was starting to wear off and he needed to rest. He knew that the dragon type would want to protest, especially as his hormones were probably screaming at Silvanus to protect his trainer.

Part of being a good trainer, though, was knowing when enough was enough. Which was why he withdrew Silvanus before either Cloyster or his dragon could get an attack out.

He took a few seconds to think, before deciding that it was Nephthys's turn. Even if she didn't do well, he still wanted her to try. As a pure dragon type, she would have a heck of a time against an ice type, but this would be good practice for her, and he wanted to see just how much his third Pokémon had grown without his guidance.

He tossed her Pokéball in the air and released her with a beam of light. Nephthys trilled in greeting, happily wiggling around on the platform for a few seconds, before getting serious.

Ash frowned to himself as he watched her move. Normally, as soon as he let her out of her Pokéball, the small dragon looked around everywhere, and met his eyes before they settled on her opponents. Not this time though.

He muttered a few choice words under his breath as he held his hand up for a time out. "Nephthys, to me."

He heard her whine quietly, but she moved back to his side. He knelt down next to her, taking in her dark, foggy eyes and off purple scales with a frown. It wasn't hard to figure out why she was moving so slowly, but he couldn't for the life of him, understand why the Professor had sent her to him like this.

Unfortunately for him, Neph was shedding. It was too soon for her to need a full body shed again, yet as he touched her head, he knew that was what was happening. He gently scratched her head, feeling the uneven scales with a sigh.

There was no way he could let her fight. Not like this. Part of him was ecstatic that she was already starting to shed again, but most of him just wanted to bang his head against the wall.

She was going to evolve soon, which was awesome, but she would be extremely vulnerable until she did.

Neph saw something in his eyes and whined again, but Ash wasn't going to budge. "She can't fight, so you get this round." He said calmly, stroking her scales as she grumbled at him. He glanced down sharply as she tried to move forward again. "No. You can either stay here with me and watch V work or you can go back in your Pokéball. Those are your only two options."

The little dragon shifted quietly and wrapped herself around Ash's feet but didn't try to argue anymore. She was too tired, and her scales were starting to hurt. She didn't really want to fight, she just wanted to prove that she could. Sadly, she knew her trainer was right. Fighting right now would just hurt her more in the long run. She pouted cutely. Neph just wanted to evolve already.

While his girl was settling at his feet, he lazily selected his next Pokéball. Viridios would have to take out Cloyster and whatever Lily's fourth Pokémon was in order to win. He hated using V on any Pokémon, but his choices were extremely limited right now. He just had to hope that Viridios wouldn't snap and kill any of Lily's Pokémon.

Normally, sending out a ground type, or a dragon type, against an ice type was a stupid move. Normally, it wouldn't have ended well for the dragon. But Viridios, well, he wasn't normal. Not in the slightest. If anyone had a chance to help him win this, it was V.

He had no doubt that Viridios would be cackling as he won in a few minutes. It was exhausting to try and find opponents that could keep up with V, and his appetite for battles. Hopefully, this would help the insane Vibrava calm down at least slightly.

And if, by chance, V wasn't enough to win, he knew that the reality check would be good for him too.

Mind made up, he tossed the Pokéball in the air, letting Viridios get a flying start. "Show them no mercy, Viridios." He muttered out, knowing that the Pokémon could hear him just fine.

V glided through the air, green eyes glowing in surprise at the command. Usually, Ash did little more than tell him to hold back, to show mercy when the Vibrava had none. But with that command instead, he was given the ability to do what he wanted against his opponent, so long as he won.

The dragonfly Pokémon hovered closer to Ash, knowing that there was more to his command than a simple free for all.

"She's got one left after this, and you're my last one left." Ash muttered quietly, knowing that his Pokémon would understand what he was saying just as clearly as what he wasn't.

Viridios couldn't go all out on this one. He would need to make sure he had enough energy to take down another Pokémon as well. Admittedly, his stamina wasn't as good as the damned croc Pokémon, but he had a few tricks that he had been dying to test out. His strength was his creativity with his attacks. Not his sheer power, or his jaws, he missed his jaws, but his mind.

He looked at his opponent, sizing up the ice type, before freezing. The Cloyster had laughed at him. It was chuckling at him!

Bloodlust flashed through his emerald eyes as he readied himself to take down the giant clam. It thought he was a joke? Then the joke would make it bleed. It's not funny, after all, until someone gets hurt.


	14. Chapter 14 and an AN

A/N

So, let's get some stuff out of the way, shall we? Firstly, my Ash will only use dragons in his official Indigo League battles. Everything Kanto is meant for the dragons. In his second region, he will probably exclusively use his dark types in official battles, even if outside of them he uses something else. He's doing this because, in his mind, to claim that he's a master of dragons, he has to prove it via the League. Same with the dark types and whatever I decided to do next. If I decide anything that is.

Secondly, Pandora and her TM's. I'm well aware that for her to be a useful battler, she needs a wide range of moves. Once Ash gets to Celadon, he'll get her some. Keep in mind that he doesn't like battling with her. It isn't that she's weak, though at this point she kinda is, its more to do with her not really wanting to battle. Sure, she wants to beat down the dragons who threaten her throne, but Pandora isn't really interested in pushing herself like most of the others are. Sorry, but she's more like a companion than a normal battler. At least for now. If her attitude changes, or she gets a taste for battling, then who knows.

Thirdly, I know I made a controversial decision by making Ash and his mother distant. She is not his support system, nor does he want her to be. She loves him because he is her son, but she also loathes him for reasons that I will not go into details about yet. I refuse to spoil anything. To be fair, she does have a good reason to be wary of him, and while she is neglectful, and not exactly nice to him verbally, she always made sure that he had someone to watch over him, usually Mimey.

Fourthly, the League doesn't like him. Not everyone, of course, Brock was fine with him, and so are others, but the upper management, as I like to call the E4, don't really like him. Is there a reason? Yes. Are there good reasons? Depends, Brock and the Sensational sisters don't think so, but it's not up to them. Yes, Lance is a jerk, he's territorial and proud, neither of which are bad things, but he is aware that this kid, one he knows to be wary of, has managed to get the loyalty of a Deino, has captured a set of two shiny Pokémon, and has managed to calm down a feral Gible. He has great reasons to be wary, and even if his delivery wasn't the greatest, he knows, more than most, how much damage even a weak dragon can do. He knows how tentative the bonds between a dragon and a trainer can be, especially early on, and in his own way, he was trying to help. The fastest way he knows to bond the trainer and its team is to become something to overcome. Intelligent? No, but it worked. Strangely well too.

Next, I have noticed that my Ash doesn't talk very often, and when he does, its awkward. There is a few reasons for that. Most of it stems from when he was a child, simply being unable to make lasting friendships and being socially awkward. Part of it is my fault. I'm not the most talkative person in the world, and I also find it nearly impossible to connect with people. The combination of the two leads to what you read. Poor Ash doesn't know how to respond to people who are genuinely interested in getting to know him. The best he usually gets from people is that they are mildly disinterested in him. He does get a little better at it the longer the story goes.

Okay, lastly, and I really hate that I have to say this, this story is going to be LONG. I might time skip a bit, maybe a few months, maybe not. I haven't decided yet. Either way, this is going to be longer than I'd like. Alright? Alright. I know the pacing is a bit off, it is what it is, and I'm completely aware that some people will never like this story. I'm perfectly fine with it, and I really don't care if someone hates something specific or not. Keep in mind, I'm around 30-40k ahead of where I've last uploaded. By the time someone reads it, I can't change it without having to change a lot of other things. And, honestly, I'm writing this story because I want to. If someone wants to have a version of Ash with a loving mom and a doting league, then go ahead and write it yourself or find someone else who wants to write it. My version is not for the happy go lucky type. There will be death. There will be war. There will be torture, violence, prejudice, and all sorts of things that fit with the world I'm building. Anyone that doesn't want to read it, well, you know where the back button is. If you keep reading anyway, and flame me, be aware I'm probably laughing at you, and so are the several RL friends who know about this. If there is valid criticism, then bring it on, I love knowing how to make myself better, and how to help make my worlds immersive.

Alright, this is way too long. Let's get to the part you actually want to read, hm?

Here's our list of everyone

Deino- Barastyr

Horsea- Oceanius

Dratini- Nephthys

Gabite- Silvanus

Sandile- Anubis

Larvitar- Icelos

Bagon- Megara

Axew- Hades

Cleffa- Pandora

Vibrava- Viridios

Froakie- Triton

Litten- Erebus

Fearow (With Bill)

* * *

Ash tucked his badge case back in his pocket, patting it contentedly as he walked back out of the glass doors. That had gone better than he expected. Not only had Hades done an excellent job, but Silvanus had evolved, and Viridios had proven to Lily and her sisters just how dangerous a Vibrava could be. He hadn't seen the youngest Waterflower sister anywhere. And, best of all, Neph was getting close to evolving!

Well, he thought she was. She had the signs that her time as a Dratini was starting to come to a close. She probably just needed a little more draconic energy before she would evolve. Which was why he decided that he would spend the rest of the day training with his team.

Nephthys needed some time to absorb as much draconic energy as she could, and his team, especially right now, was full of all dragons. Well, and Anubis. Hopefully, that would give her the last boost she needed. Maybe it would persuade Anubis and Oceanius that they did actually want to evolve eventually.

He really wanted to test Silvanus against Oceanius, Anubis, and Viridios. With his new power, he should be able to easily slice through those he had struggled against in the past, and from his performance, he was clearly stronger than both Barastyr and Icelos. It was a surprise that he hadn't been expecting, but he was proud of the not so small dragon.

To actually do that, he made a quick stop by the Pokémon center to heal his Pokémon and switch his team around. Instead of his all dragon team that had challenged the gym, he was more balanced at the moment. Barastyr was a steady, if lazy, presence by his side. Silvanus, Anubis, Viridios, Icelos, Oceanius, and Pandora made up the rest of his team. He carefully warned the Professor that he would be switching around his team again soon and asked the man to make sure Hades and Megara spent some time together with Nephthys. He'd be bringing the three of them back in a few hours to rotate with the others.

He walked a little way out, towards the beach that he had fought Hades, Megara, and V on. This time, the only fights would be when he decided they would be.

Barastyr nudged at his leg, jolting him out of his head. He smiled down at his starter, still completely in awe of the trust his Pokémon gave him. He looked around, making sure that he had the area to himself.

Thankfully, there weren't many people here today, and all of those who were here seemed to want a private part of the beach. He could see, a little further down, a set of four trainers having a double battle with each other. Other than that, the only other people was a kid, splashing around with an Azurill, and a girl who was tanning with her Persian.

One he was sure that no one would interrupt, he let the rest of his team stretch their legs. Barastyr greeted his teammates with a quiet growl, before going off to lay in the sun.

Oceanius trumpeted regally, before his eyes lit up as he saw the oceans. Ash gestured for the Pokémon to go ahead and dive in.

Viridios went to the air as soon as he was out of his Pokéball, hovering in place with his large wings as he eyed the rock that Barastyr had settled on. He thoughtfully buzzed around a bit before heading to the rock and trying to push Barastyr off. V, being V, just wanted to annoy his teammates into a fight, and he had apparently chosen Bara to try to beat today.

Icelos formed and stretched lazily, relaxing in the warm sun. He eyed his teammates with mischievous red eyes and headed toward V and Bara. Together, the two of them could take down the dragonfly, and Bara was definitely interested in joining forces with the rock type.

When it was her turn, Pandora practically leapt out of her Pokéball. Every part of her wanted to claim her throne again, but she knew that she needed to catch up on what her boy had been up to first, so that if she needed to tug roughly on his hair for being stupid, she could. She trilled a happy greeting at Barastyr, Viridios, and Icelos, content for now to spend time with her fellow Pokémon. She would, of course, claim her throne soon enough.

Anubis paced as he formed, energy practically overflowing from his being. He didn't dare stop, even at the concerned sigh from his trainer. Anubis wondered if his boy had a death wish when he came to the mighty croc's side and rubbed at his head. It took every bit of strength he had to stay still and allow the touch.

The last one out was Silvanus, who immediately took all of the attention for himself as he examined his long limbs. The ground dragon seemed particularly interested in the sharp fins coming from his lower arms, and walking, which no longer came as easily as it did when his center of gravity was lower.

Every step taken was a challenge conquered, and pride over his evolution made any discomfort worth it. Silvanus may have been taken out, but he had earned his place on the team now. He wasn't going to be left behind any longer.

A curious growl made the bigger Pokémon stop and crouch down next to Ash's starter. Evidently, Sil had gained Barastyr's approval with his evolution. The rest of the team, minus Anubis, gathered around him, taking in his new scent and congratulating him on his bigger form. Oceanius trumpeted that hopefully, it would be easier for him to protect their boy now that he was bigger.

Silvanus agreed, still trying to get the hang of talking to his fellow Pokémon. A lot had changed in his brain now that he was a Gabite. He had noticed it against the Icy Shelled One. His brain still told him that his jaws were his most powerful weapon, but his instincts disagreed. His mind was. His entire body was more like a weapon, head more than able to do damage now that it was more narrow, arms equipped with fins, like his back and tail, that were more than capable of causing damage, claws able to slice, feet equipped with claws that would be able to slice through anything that got in his way, and spikes on his legs. Yes, his entire body was able to do more damage, but it was difficult.

He knew the way he had fought as a Gible wouldn't be effective any more. He would have to find out which of his deadly features he was more likely to use than the others.

They relaxed contently in the warm ocean air, except, of course, for one of their team. Sil had noticed that scents were much stronger now, like he could smell clearly for the first time in his life. Thanks to a combination of the aggravated growls, the unbridled movements, and the scent of pure bloodlust, Silvanus decided to go over to his dark type teammate. He didn't feel comfortable leaving their boy with a Pokémon that seemed like he was seconds away from snapping.

The rest of the team seemed to relax again, but Sil could smell that they were in fact paying very close attention to him and their boy. None of the others wanted to get close to Anubis and risk him snapping near their boy. But they didn't see what he did. They couldn't tell that Anubis was likely to snap even if the rest of them stayed away.

He raised one clawed hand in greeting, moving to sit on the other side of their boy, and grumbled out a polite hello.

Anubis greeted him back tersely, relaxing slightly even as the other Pokémon got in his space.

For his part, Anubis was glad that someone on his team was smart enough to realize that their boy needed a guard, even from him. He didn't want to hurt their boy, but his instincts were screaming at him. Part of them were telling him to get away before he hurt his trainer, but the other part said to stay close in case someone tried to attack his boy. That left poor Anubis pacing on the warm sand, trying to keep himself calm.

Unlike most of his boy's Pokémon, he was one of two that there was a warning about. He was a male Sandile, one who could be extremely violent when he was on a Moxie high. It was because of that, Ash always used him last. It worked for them because it kept him in control of himself, and it kept Ash confident that he wouldn't lose himself to the high that was Moxie.

Yet, as his aggression grew, so did his resentment at having to always be in control. It wasn't fair that Viridios could be free to act however he wanted, hurt whomever he pleased, yet Anu was stuck practicing control. At this point, it would have been easier for him to spend his time in his Pokéball, but that didn't even help. When his boy was out of sight, it caused his protective side to grow to nearly unbearable levels, making him more and more of a mess the longer this went on.

He needed to get away and evolve in peace, but he couldn't trust the others to take care of his boy. Viridios was strong, yeah, but he was unreliable and unstable. His evolution hadn't done anything good for the dragonfly. It had made him more intelligent, more sly, and more likely to play with his prey. That wasn't the type of Pokémon he trusted to watch his boy.

If Oceanius evolved, then maybe, but the seahorse was fighting his evolution just like Anubis was fighting his. Oceanius had seen how much his teammate had changed once he evolved, and he was terrified that he would lose himself once he evolved as well.

Anubis couldn't disagree. He wasn't particularly excited with the idea of changing his personality either. Still, they both knew that their times in these forms were done. Anu just wondered which of them would snap and evolve first.

Still, he was grateful to the now larger Pokémon for coming over to protect their boy. He wasn't sure how strong the once clingy, former Gible was, but he was loyal to their boy in a way that only Barastyr, Oceanius, and himself had been from the beginning.

Oh, he knew Barastyr would deny it, but he was just as taken with their boy as Anubis was. The dessert croc had spent some time talking about how Barastyr had tried to distance himself from his trainer. It was the sign of a weak Pokémon to try and keep a distance from what they cared about, and if Anubis had met the Deino when he was leaving with their boy, he would have ripped the dragon type to pieces.

He caught Barastyr's nose turned towards him and tried to relax slightly. The blind Pokémon was able to sense his aggression and wasn't particularly pleased that he was so close to their boy when he was this worked up.

Actually, Anubis noticed with a snarl, all of the others were watching him. He could see Oceanius' head raised from the waves as he watched the Sandile with cool red eyes. He could see how Icelos, Pandora, and Barastyr were trying to pretend that they were focused only on each other. He could see Viridios not even trying to pretend he wasn't watching the croc, emerald eyes glued to him.

Only Silvanus had the right to watch him, as he was the only one who had bothered stepping up to come near their trainer. The rest of the cowards…

Anubis threw himself back, further away from his trainer as something clicked in his mind. He saw the others lose their relaxed stance, before everything was covered in darkness and pain.

For his part, Oceanius knew what was happening the second he locked eyes with his rival. His instincts were calling him further into the ocean, so that he could be away from the threat, but he couldn't do that. He watched sadly as Anubis's form stretched and shifted. He shot out of the water but made sure to stay back.

As a Horsea, he wouldn't be able to protect their human against Anubis, should he be as insane as he feared he would be. He watched, hesitating on what he could do to help. As the light faded, he could immediately see the difference in his teammate. He was taller, still tan, black, and light red in coloring, with thin arms, powerful legs, and a tail that Oceanius was sure could break his entire skeleton without even trying.

It was his eyes though, pitch black as always, but tinged with red as he roared his pain and loss of sanity, that made Oceanius finally give into his own evolution. Those were the eyes of a Pokémon who just wanted to cause agony and death to those around him. Those eyes told Oceanius that, right now, none of the others were strong enough to take down Anubis. So, he would have to do it himself.

For his part, Ash was extremely wary of Anubis right now. He had noticed that the aggression had become too much and seen how his friend had tried to throw himself further from his trainer. He knew that he had to be very, very careful right now.

As soon as the light died down around Anubis, Ash offered him a small smile. It died as the trainer took in the lack of familiarity in Anubis's eyes. All his Pokémon knew was that he hurt, badly, and he wanted others to hurt just as badly.

He was so proud of his Pokémon, and he took in every change to his reptilian friend. He was taller, broader, more powerful, and dangerous in every sense of the word. Honestly, the changes just made him more excited towards the day when Anubis became known as a powerful berserker like Krookodile.

He sighed quietly, trying to figure out how to approach his wild Pokémon. Beside him, Silvanus was tense for an attack, ready to guard his trainer should he need to. Ash wished he could figure out how to reach his oldest friend, but there was no way that Anubis would allow Ash to touch him right now.

A second light caught his attention, making him tear his eyes away from the powerful crocodile and towards an irritated water type. His lips twitched again in exasperation. Of course, the only thing that would make Oceanius decide to evolve was Anubis evolving first. He wished he was surprised.

Still, he watched fondly as Horse's body raised to the height of Anubis', his spikes becoming more pronounced. The fin like wings on his back stretched and pulled, becoming more spiked as his mouth became longer and more defined.

As the light faded, Ash saw his friends coloring had shifted slightly as well. The smokey purpleish black color had become an inky black, seeming to distort the light away from his scales. His soft underbelly, which always had a golden gleam, became more like a soft grey color, and far sharper in shape. Like this, Anubis and Oceanius were even with Viridios and Silvanus, possibly even stronger as Oceanius hadn't gained his dragon typing yet, and dark types were simply powerful opponents.

He couldn't wait to pair the four of them up and see just how much stronger their evolutions had made them.

He was extremely proud of them. Still, he needed to deal with Anubis before he celebrated having four Pokémon evolved into their second forms. Right now, the croc wasn't thinking, but moving completely from instinct. Anubis's mind made him the formidable battler he had become, but like this…

"Oh, Anu…" He whispered sadly, watching his oldest friend roar out in rage once again. He really didn't want to fight with his Pokémon, but he didn't have a choice in the matter. He had to defend himself.

The whisper was, apparently, a bad idea, as the raging croc decided that his trainer was now his target. He rushed forward in the blink of an eye, swiping his long claws at his trainer as he took a few uncertain steps. Silvanus blocked him, catching the dark types claws in his own as he pushed him back.

There was no way that Silvanus was allowing his trainer to be hurt right now. As strong as his evolution had made him, it still wasn't enough to completely hold off a raging Krokorok.

Ash turned off the hurting trainer in his mind and tried to look at the situation from a perspective of a battle. He had, maybe, ten minutes before Oceanius was exhausted, probably less than that before Silvanus couldn't move anymore. Viridios had just taken down two opponents, so he was reaching the end of his rope as well. Still, he couldn't hesitate. He had to take Anubis down before someone got hurt.

"Pandora, Icelos, Barastyr, to me. Oceanius, drench the sand around Anu. Make sure that if he digs, he will almost drown. Viridios, try to get as many hits as you can. His senses are sensitive right now, he'll be weaker than normal to your sound-based attacks. Sil, dual chop. Direct engagement." Usually, he preferred to let his Pokémon move by themselves, without much input from their trainer, but he couldn't do that with this. Anubis was already one of his most powerful Pokémon, and the evolution would have made the already powerful fighter even more difficult to beat.

This wasn't the best place for the fight to take place, especially when his team was tired, but he couldn't exactly recall Anubis. He had absolutely no doubt that his oldest friend wasn't in the mood to listen. He hated to admit it, but Anubis was too powerful right now for his team to take out one- on- one. He was too lost in a dark rage, to tortured from his evolution to listen to logic. All he could do was gang up on the croc and hope that was enough.

He considered his options. Pandora wasn't a fighter. She wasn't made for the intense battle that was taking place on the beach. Barastyr and Icelos, on the other hand, could do some damage, but not enough. Besides, he needed them close by incase his croc decided to turn on his trainer. Ash really hoped he wouldn't become a statistic.

After a few seconds of deliberation, he changed his mind. This wasn't going to work. Not like this. "Oceanius, switch things up, try to trip him up. V, push him back towards the water. Sil, help him out. We can't let him get any closer to anyone else. Try not to hit me, if you could."

With the new plan in place, they worked together, pushing Anubis towards Oceanius' domain. While they were distracted, Ash took a deep breath and started to move forwards. There were three ways that a Pokémon in an evolution rage snapped out of it. One was to be beaten down. The next was to kill their trainer. The third was for their trainer to snap them out of it. He couldn't afford to hesitate; he couldn't let himself question it. This was the only way that he could get his partner back. If it didn't work, well, his partner would calm down anyways.

He stalked over to Anubis, eyes flaming in determination. He was done with his Pokémon throwing a fit. Anubis froze, making his other Pokémon pause as well. He moved so that he was less than six inches away from the sharp snout filled with teeth that could shred his flesh with no effort. His golden eyes stared directly into Anubis' dark ones. "Enough." He commanded harshly. "You're better than this."

Anubis lunged forward, the edge of his snout touching Ash's cheek, but the trainer didn't move, didn't blink. "You shouldn't have put this off for so long, Anubis. By trying to protect me, you made it more dangerous for me. If you want me dead, Anu, then do it." He opened his arms in a dare. "I'm right here, I'm not running." Barastyr moved closer, making Anubis snarl angrily, eyes bleeding red.

"Back off." Ash said harshly, making sure his team knew that he wasn't just talking to Anubis. They tried to fight, maybe if they were fresh, they could take down the mad croc, but like this? No, they couldn't win. But he could.

The Krokorok seemed confused by the command. The logical part of his mind wanted to listen, but that part was being smothered by instincts that demanded he shred, tear, and destroy. Still, he didn't want to hurt the idiot in front of him. He did, but he didn't.

The croc knew the boy, but that knowledge was hidden behind pain and suffering. He was hurting. He wanted everyone else to hurt too. Yet, he didn't want the boy to suffer? He wanted to protect the golden eyed child? Why?

Memories forced their way behind his eyes. He remembered hatching, being cold, abandoned, and miserable. He remembered lashing out within minutes of hatching, surrounded by other Sandile. He had been so cold, so small, and then, the golden warmth found him and picked him up, tucking him under his chin to try and protect him. The golden warmth had tried to keep him safe, making the other, bigger Pokémon back away from him. The golden warmth had saved him. He had been the smallest, and the one that was likely to be his siblings first meal. He had been so cold, so alone.

He remembered sitting in the sunlight with his golden warmth, sitting on the stomach of his boy. He remembered spending day and night with his golden warmth. He remembered his golden warmth feeding him, making sure he was able to grow into a powerful Sandile. He remembered finding out that his golden warmth was going to be leaving soon, and that he couldn't go with his golden warmth. He couldn't protect his golden warmth like his boy had protected him when he needed it. He remembered watching, silently, from the shadows, as his golden warmth left the ranch with the little blue and black Pokémon at his side. He had been so jealous, so sad, and so cold.

He watched as he was reunited with his golden warmth, his trainer now, who had been hurt by people he wanted to tear limb from limb. All he wanted was to protect his golden warmth like his boy had protected him.

Anubis, that was his name, blinked, horrified with himself as he realized how close he was to tearing off the head of his boy. He tilted his head, turning so that his neck rested on the boys shoulders and let out a pained growl. He was surprised when warm arms wrapped around him, protecting him once again. He had almost hurt his golden warmth. He had almost hurt his boy.

Ash felt his eyes soften at the sound. "I'm okay, Anu." He whispered softly, knowing that his oldest friend was tearing himself apart for almost hurting his trainer. He squeezed the Pokémon softly, glad to have his friend back. He was just glad that worked.

He adored all of his Pokémon, but this one, more than the others, had been the one he opened up to the most. Anubis was meant to be his starter, and they had developed a relationship as if the Krokorok was. Anubis had needed him at first, needed to be protected in a way that Barastyr never had. They had needed each other, and Ash had put in the time and effort to help the smallest Sandile.

He pulled back, looking into his friends pitch black eyes. "Next time just evolve. Okay?"

They both knew that it was a lie when Anubis nodded, but the Pokémon was willing to indulge his trainers' delusions.

Ash scratched the top of Anubis' head carefully, before withdrawing his friend. He breathed out a long sigh and let himself fall on his knees. That was terrifying. He didn't want to do that again any time soon. Deep, slow breaths escaped him as he forced himself to calm down. That could have ended really badly. He was okay, he reminded himself, and so were all of his Pokémon. Anubis would be grumpy for a few days because his muscles would be sore from the evolution. Oceanius-

His head shot up as he finally recognized what had happened with the first Pokémon he had ever caught: Oceanius had evolved to protect him. His Horsea was one step closer to becoming a majestic king of the sea. He was so proud of him.

He pushed himself back up, walking closer to the water's edge before walking into the ocean, going next to his second Pokémon. Oceanius didn't just bob along in the water now, he actively seemed to be swimming. He was bigger than any Seadra Ash had ever seen before, even the ones in the Cerulean City Gym. The Pokémon should have been just a little shorter than four feet, but from how far he stood out from the water, the Pokémon was probably well over four feet tall. He pulled his Pokénav out of his pocket and flicked to Oceanius' page. The Pokénav information had automatically updated when he had evolved, telling the trainer that his Pokémon was now four foot three, four inches taller than he should be, and a massive sixty- three pounds in weight.

Oceanius was only eight inches shorter than his trainer. Ash blinked down at the Pokémon, looking into deadly red eyes, and let out a relieved sigh as Nius butted against his side gently. He rubbed his scaly head and inspected the Pokémon himself.

It was weird for Oceanius to have darkened so much, but he was still an impressive Pokémon to have on his team. Black scales seemed to bend the light away from them, while the soft grey scales of his underbelly glowed in it. "Its going to take forever to groom you now, Nius." Ash commented, watching as Oceanius' eyes lit up in happiness. He still loved being groomed more than the others ever would.

He was so proud of his team that he felt like he could destroy those who had stood in his way. With four of his Pokémon in their second form, it was difficult for him to not get cocky. He knew that Oceanius could blow through anything that Brock would send his way. Still, he was going south.

Making a mental note to go through his Pokénav later, if only so he could see where his team was compared to where they could be, Ash withdrew almost all of his Pokémon. They had enough beach time to last for a while. He left out Silvanus, who was fixing the beach, and Pandora. He was slightly worried about his baby girl. Unlike the other monsters on his team, who had fought their evolutions, Pandora just hadn't evolved.

To be honest, he really didn't want her too. She was still tiny, petite, and adorable. He really didn't want her to become a Clefairy any time soon. He was more than happy to have her sitting on his head, glaring at anyone, including Silvanus, who got too close to her throne.

He really wanted to spend more time with his girls, but it was difficult. Nephthys, despite being better, was still distant with him. Megara didn't really care either way. Pandora, he knew didn't really like being on the road as much as in the cities. She wanted a warm bed, a clean place to relax, and, Pokémon to boss around. Sometimes, Icelos, Hades, and Barastyr indulged her, but for the most part, the rest of them just thought she was an idiot.

It was difficult for him to balance the team he had. Some of them lived for battle, some hated it, and some didn't care one way or another. He knew where most of his Pokémon fell on the scale, except, for his newest two. They were mischievous, sure, but neither of them really wanted to stand out, and that was a problem. He had spent some time with Triton, his Froakie, and Erebus, his Litten, but neither of them showed a preference towards battling. Triton seemed more interested in perfecting his moves, he and Hades were friends, while Ere just wanted to nap.

They needed training, badly. Still, he had to work with the team he was going to be using against Surge. He knew which of the dragons he was going to be using for his official team, Barastyr, Oceanius, Silvanus, Nephthys, Hades, and Viridios, as well as which one would be his backup player, Megara. He was also fairly certain which Pokémon would be on his dark type team, or at least a few members of that one, but he wasn't sure which of his Pokémon he wanted on his travel team. Some spots were taken, he had to have Barastyr, Anubis, and Viridios with him, but that still left four spots that he had to fill. Icelos, probably, Hades was always fun to have around, but other than that, he had no idea.

It was irritating that he was limited on what combinations he could use. There were some of his Pokémon that, frankly, he didn't trust to behave at the ranch. Barastyr was staying, Anubis would terrorize everyone, so would Viridios, and Icelos… well, he wasn't sure what Icelos would do. If he had the others from his old team there, he might be alright, but that wasn't a sure thing. Oceanius would grumble and try to poison everyone around him, or he would have as a Horsea. Now that he was a Seadra, there would be changes in his personality, but he wasn't sure what they would be.

Silvanus was also another unknown. He had been clingy as a Gible and seemed to be more protective now that he evolved. Would the Gabite even allow his trainer to leave him at the ranch?

It would only be for around ten days, maybe less before he got to Saffron City, but that might be too much time. He supposed he could take Pandora, but she wouldn't like it, even if she would love the time she got to spend with her trainer. He could take Ere, but the lazy Litten would want to be carried all the time. He wasn't a serious battler, not yet, anyways. Megara would like it, as long as she had plenty of open spaces to run around, and rocks to jump off of. There was no way he was taking Neph on the road. Not when she was this close to evolving. It could scar her, damage her scales beyond repair if she got into a sticky situation. Maybe Triton, he considered. He and Icelos had a bit of a rivalry going on, as they both liked pranking each other, and he got along with Viridios.

He suppressed a shiver at the thought. Somehow, some way, Triton and V had become friends. It was terrifying to think about what they could do if they teamed up. But V did push the little Froakie harder than the rest of them. He wanted his buddy to take the place of the second most powerful on their team, even if he was a long way away. If Hades ever got into a double battle with V as his partner, though, they would be just as deadly as Triton and V. His little pyromaniac was trying to reach out to the others, but he was having a heck of a time with it.

Eventually, he would have to prepare for another powerful, angry Pokémon on his team. As soon as Bill was done with his study, he would have Fearow on his team as well. Even if he wasn't sure how he was going to handle the Pokémon, his team had grown a lot since their battle with the larger than normal bird, and hopefully, would be more than enough to keep the Pokémon in its place. Or, at least, keep it from killing Ash.

He wandered around a little bit more, enjoying the time with Pandora chittering on his head and Silvanus grumbling back. It was peaceful, and nice not getting the same fearful looks he was used to. Not that some people weren't afraid of Sil but seeing the Gabite having a conversation with a tiny Cleffa seemed to negate the bad feelings that the dragon type seemed to cause.

It was going to be weird, he realized with a cringe, not having Hades by his side, but he knew that the Axew would be alright at the ranch, especially compared to Oceanius. All too soon, he reached the Pokémon Center, and switched around his team once again. He left with Barastyr, Anubis, Viridios, Icelos, Silvanus, Triton, and Oceanius, after getting a promise to keep a close eye on Neph and to message him immediately if she or Pandora seemed like they were ready to evolve.

After triple checking that he had everything that he needed to make it safely through to Saffron, he headed out, leaving Cerulean behind him, and with it, the uncertainty of the path that he was destined to go down.


	15. Chapter 15

So, I went through and did an edit, some heavier some lighter, from chapter 8- now. A few of you pointed out some naming problems, and honestly, every time I think I've gotten them all, I find a new one. I think, maybe, big maybe, I finally have all of them at this point. I cant promise anything, but I'm pretty sure we're good. Okay, here's the list.

Deino- Barastyr

Seadra- Oceanius

Dratini- Nephthys

Gabite- Silvanus

Krokorok- Anubis

Larvitar- Icelos

Bagon- Megara

Axew- Hades

Cleffa- Pandora

Vibrava- Viridios

Froakie- Triton

Litten- Erebus

Fearow (With Bill)

* * *

"Ice beam." He muttered out, bored as Triton took down yet another Pokémon. He was in another battle, this one against yet another idiot who thought that they would be the greatest bug catcher in the world.

The girl, Brandi, hadn't even bothered to evolve her team all the way. She had challenged him to a three on three and had used nothing that had given him any trouble. Triton, so far, had taken down a Kakuna and a Metapod. He was half curious what her third would be. She was so smug that Ash was tempted to have Triton use Ice beam on her instead of her Pokémon.

She tossed her third Pokéball and his eyebrow raised. Somehow, this girl had gotten her hands on an Ariados. It was large, venomous, and seemed meaner than the other two Pokémon she had sent out.

Still, Ariados usually used speed to win their fights, and that wasn't going to happen against Triton. While not being built for power, the Froakie was built for speed. It was easily his fastest Pokémon, and he knew how to use that speed to his advantage.

Triton was getting close to his evolution, not that he was surprised. Still, Ash hoped that by being forced to battle stronger and stronger opponents, he would give into the call of evolution. Hopefully. Maybe.

"Strat 6." He commanded clearly, knowing that Froakie would know exactly what he meant by it. He had been working with the little water type and had been pleasantly surprised that the Pokémon had no difficulty remembering which strategy belonged with each number.

In this case, 6 was designed for speed fights. Triton could do all sorts of surprisingly cruel things with his attacks, and one combination used double team to speed up, and encircled his prey with a mix of icy wind and water pulse. The combination ended up leaving an almost web like substance made of ice that trapped those too slow to avoid it and knocking out the other Pokémon with little effort.

A well trained Ariados would have no problem getting away and trapping Triton, but this one wasn't good enough. He watched smugly as Triton trapped it and started hitting it with the frozen attacks as well as the strong bursts of water.

Ariados hissed, not trying to escape, but instead sending a wave of poison towards Triton. It hit his little water type, pushing Triton back several steps. The Froakie wasn't pleased with the spider Pokémon, and was suddenly enveloped in a white light, limbs elongating, and colors darkening in places to a deep navy color.

Triton, now a Frogadier, was pissed.

He could hear Viridios above them laughing sadistically as Triton decimated his opponent. The frog Pokémon didn't take kindly to his prey trying to fight back.

Ash shook his head as Triton stood on Ariados' back, one fist raised in victory as the spider laid unconscious on the ground. He felt kind of bad encouraging Triton to befriend V, especially since both Pokémon had started becoming more sadistic as their friendship grew.

The girl withdrew her Pokémon, sniffling in horror as she handed over some money to the trainer who had hurt her precious bugs. She ran off towards her camp, most likely.

Ash whistled sharply, drawing V to his side as well as Triton and Silvanus, who had been hiding away from the girl, watching diligently for danger. V chittered in congratulations at his friend while Sil just nodded.

The dragon- ground type had gotten more serious, more protective, and more possessive since his evolution. It was, admittedly, a little bit miserable. He turned to walk back towards his own camp where Barastyr and Anubis were guarding the perimeter. Even Icelos, his one cold, distant Larvitar, had gotten it in his head that Ash needed to be protected.

He wondered if it was possible for his Pokémon to smother him with protectiveness. Still, he hoped it would level out sooner or later. Then again, it had been a week since he left Cerulean, and it had just gotten worse.

He huffed as he was herded towards their camp, Sil growling at the wind.

Suddenly, his team froze, making him go very still as he tried to figure out what had spooked his Pokémon. It took a second to recognize the chittering of several Rattata, and the low hissing of a boss Raticate. Ash resisted the urge to groan. That was the last thing he needed. Usually, Rattata were timid, but when there was a Raticate with them, they became bullies, ganging up on other Pokémon and killing them, sometimes for food, sometimes for fun.

He tilted his head towards the sound and cursed himself. Why couldn't he leave well enough alone?

Gesturing for his Pokémon to follow him, he headed towards the noise. He couldn't let a Pokémon get slaughtered just because it was weaker than a pack of Rattata. He wondered what they had encircled, knowing that there weren't very many different species that made their homes on Route Five.

Soon enough, he could see just what they had caught. There were at least a dozen Rattata surrounding the two unfortunate victims. One was an Abra, apparently asleep and bleeding from at least a dozen bite marks on its tan coat. The second was a Shinx, a rare, but not unseen, Pokémon not native to Kanto. It was clearly a runt, and was trying to fight off the other Pokémon, but it was failing horribly.

Ash sighed. "Triton, Silvanus, Viridios, get rid of the rats."

He walked easily towards the electric cat and the sleeping psychic. He knew without a doubt that his team would clear a path for him, and they did. The cat hissed, sending a bolt of electricity at him, making his body jolt slightly. It wasn't enough to even knock him over, he thought sadly.

He knelt down, staying a few steps away as he held out a hand gently watching as dark, distrustful eyes kept him in sight. "Its okay, little one, I just want to help you and your friend. You protected Abra, and I want to help both of you heal. I have some potions on me that will help with your wounds." He muttered calmly, drawing from his experience with Anubis as a hatchling. The Shinx was young, so very young, in pain, and scared of everything. Even the sleeping Abra seemed to be in pain.

It only took a few seconds for the electric type to nod slightly towards the Abra. Ash took that to mean he had permission to help the psychic. He pushed his bag off of his arm and dug around for the potions he knew were in it. Finally, he dug out a few of them and picked up the first one, running a soothing hand on Abra's arm to hopefully keep it from flinching.

He carefully sprayed every single bite mark and bandaged the bigger wounds that would take a little more time to heal. It took three potions to take care of the psychic type. Once Shinx was reassured that he wouldn't hurt it, the cat Pokémon stayed still as Ash sprayed its wounds as well.

When he finished, he looked around, checking for any sign of the rats that his team had chased away. He looked at the two young Pokémon and let out another sigh. He couldn't leave them alone for the night. He just couldn't.

"Would you like to spend the night at my camp? I promise, I won't catch you two, and you can leave whenever you want to, but you could use a good nights rest before you go back to wherever you came from." He questioned, keeping his voice low, and calm. He couldn't afford to raise any more babies right now, as he still had Pandora and Erebus to raise up. Still, the Shinx reminded him of Anubis.

He remembered when his powerful sand croc was just a tiny baby, needing protection and trying to roar but squeaking instead. He had been tiny, helpless, and in need of someone willing to give him the time and attention he needed to get stronger.

Still, as much as he wanted to, he couldn't rescue every Pokémon that he came across. But he could keep them safe for a few hours while they healed. That was possible. He watched as the Flash Pokémon shook its head and ran off, dragging a floating Abra by carefully biting its leg.

Ash sighed to himself and watched them go, before straightening his spine and heading back towards his camp for the night. He was less than a day and a half from Saffron, and he was more than ready to switch out his team again. If only so he could get a break from their overprotective natures.

It only took a few minutes for him to find his camp. He shook his head as he watched his Pokémon grumbling at each other. He was tired, and they had spent the majority of the day training, working on getting stronger. Now that Triton had finally evolved, he would be able to keep up with the others a little bit better.

He laid down on his sleeping bag, grumbling as he felt Bara sneak his way inside the warm cocoon. Within minutes, he was surrounded again by his team. Oceanius and Anubis had worked together to create a six-foot-deep hole that the water type filled and used as a sleeping place. Anubis had crawled on his left, pillowing his massive head on Ash's soft stomach. Silvanus clung to him on the right, head half hogging Ash's pillow. Viridios had landed, and was sleepily laying on Ash's feet, keeping them warm. Icelos was by himself just a few feet away from Ash's head. Triton, the only one of his team that wasn't being an overprotective, possessive jerk, was next to his buddy, by Ash's feet, and croaking softly to V.

He huffed again, knowing that his team wasn't going to let him up any time soon. They expected him to fall asleep when he was being squished by five of his Pokémon. He was sad to say he was kinda used to it by this point. He closed his eyes, going through his plans to make sure he got to spend time with all of his team soon. He had two more gym badges to get within the next few weeks, then he could relax a bit.

He really wanted to spend a week or so in Saffron before he headed to his next gym. Still, he had to decide pretty soon which one it was going to be. Celadon or Vermillion? He knew that he wasn't going to have much trouble with Vermillion. Both V and Sil would be enough to, hopefully, get his badge. He wasn't sure what his other two Pokémon would be, but he was leaning towards Hades and Barastyr at the moment. There was no way he was using Nius though. That was just stupid, even if he was curious to see how powerful his first captured Pokémon would be at that time.

Stars twinkled above him, moving slowly across the sky as he watched restlessly. His mind just wouldn't turn off, and he had no idea why. Well, that was a lie, he knew exactly why his poor brain was obsessing, and it had nothing to do with gyms or where he was going next. It was because of the electric type he had ran into earlier.

Something about the cat Pokémon had called to his mind. It was a protector, and it was trying to be strong enough to be able to keep those it called friends safe. Unfortunately, there was a big chance that the Pokémon wouldn't make it another few months. It may have had a big personality, but it hadn't had the power, or the size, to back it up.

He hated that he was thinking about the baby Pokémon, it would ether get stronger and survive, or it wouldn't. He had no say in which way nature would lean. Still, what would happen to the Abra it protected when the Shinx finally died? Did the electric type have any other Pokémon under its protection? Where was its pride?

He let out a restless sigh and turned to lay on his side, staring directly at Silvanus, who hadn't so much as flinched at his movement.

He tried not to think about what kind of life his Pokémon had before he had gotten involved with them. He didn't want to know what had happened while Sil had been in team rocket's care. He didn't want to know how Barastyr had ended up in Professor Oak's custody. He didn't want to know who had twisted Viridios until he had become the creature Ash had met. He didn't want to know how Triton had ended up in that pond. He didn't want to know; it was better that he didn't. And yet, part of him did want to know.

Had his Pokémon been protectors before he had ended up with them? The only Pokémon he had that he knew the entire history of was Anubis, if only because he had seen him hatch, and watched him grow. But the rest of them? They were all a mystery to him, and he fought with himself to not wonder if Bara had been like the Shinx before he had ended up in Kanto.

Where Bara had come from was one of his biggest questions, one that bugged him not to know. As much as he loved his starter, and he did adore his Bara, the Deino wasn't typical. He didn't behave like a normal Deino would.

A normal Deino would have tried to escape by now, at least twice, if not more. A normal Deino would have ended up on the outskirts of whatever team they were on. A normal Deino would have gone on at least a few rages by this point. But not his. Bara wasn't tame, not by anyone's standards, but he was calm, controlled, and he had seemed more withdrawn during the days, while being clingy as soon as the sun went down. It didn't make any sense.

He had spent the majority of the last few years studying dragon types publicly, and dark types privately. Because of that, he had a very bad idea about what had happened to warp his starter so badly. Bara's life before they had met may have been a mystery, but the consequences of it were never going away. Bara may have been almost, well, tame _now_, but he would be even more vicious when he finally evolved. It was dangerous for both of them to put it off though.

The wind shifted slightly, making Ash freeze. His Pokémon had awakened and were snarling at whatever threat they sensed. Something was very wrong, and his team knew it. He peered into the darkness, trying to figure out what was making his instincts scream at him. Slowly sitting up, he kept an eye on the forest around them, while keeping an even closer eye on his Pokémon.

They had gotten up and surrounded him, keeping him safely in the middle of their insanity, but they weren't attacking. They just guarded him. That was extremely bad news. Something had triggered his Pokémon and their protective instincts, yet they weren't trying to destroy whatever had stumbled onto them, they were just trying to keep him safe. Which, unfortunately, meant that either whatever was coming was too strong for them to beat back, or too weak to be considered a threat.

He was just as tense as the rest of his team. Even his usual pranksters were on guard. Something, though, was barreling towards them. Silvanus let out a snarl, far more deadly than Ash had ever heard from his friend before. He understood why though, the second the Pokémon raced out towards his team.

A male Gabite, slightly shorter and stouter than Silvanus, had scented, and tracked, them. It roared back cruelly, making Triton back closer to his trainer. Ash's mind raced. What was a Gabite doing here of all places? They were known as mountain dwellers when it came to dragon species and were never far away from them.

Ash's eyes flickered to Silvanus, understanding making him pale. The Gible family never left the mountains, unless they had been captured. If he was right, there was a trainer nearby that was missing one of his teammates.

Great.

Now that he was listening for it, he could just barely hear someone coming closer to them, yelling for something, probably the Pokémon in front of him. The Gabite snarled again, raising its clawed hands in preparation for an attack. Sil wasn't having it and launched himself at the other male.

Ash bit his lip, knowing that there was no way he could intervene in this. Fights between two males, especially two male dragon types, were natural, cruel, brutal, but usually over quickly. He examined the other Pokémon carefully, trying to see what he could tell about the other dragon from the little that he could see. It was unbalanced, built more like a tank than a missile, like Sil. The Gabite bent down suddenly, and Ash yelped loudly. He knew that pose. The other Pokémon was going to try and use its hard skull to break Sil's bones.

That, he knew, wouldn't do much damage. The problem was, however, that once they got started, they didn't stop until they hit something, and it seemed to be coming straight for Ash.

He squared his shoulders, knowing he had precious seconds before the Gabite managed to break their defenses, and stepped forward. The Pokémon wasn't deterred, but Sil was hesitating. His Pokémon knew that when he looked at them like this, he expected obedience.

Ash glared at the intruding dragon, knowing that if this didn't work, Sil wouldn't waver anymore and simply tear the other dragon apart. This was the only chance that the other Pokémon would get to back down and return to its trainer.

With dragon types, all they respected was honor, loyalty, and power. Sil had probably known that this Gabite had been nearby for hours, but unlike the wild one, his had the respect for his trainer to stay by his side. The other Gabite clearly didn't respect his trainer.

So, it would have to respect him.

The only way to make that happen, though, was a battle. "Everyone but Sil, back up. V, keep an eye in the air for unexpected problems. Triton, find the Gabite's trainer and bring them here. Be nice, but don't let them push you around. Bara, Icelos, your job is to keep the wild Pokémon back, they're going to be attracted to the noise. Oceanius, you're on fire duty. Anubis, stay out of this, its Silvanus' show."

His team didn't like it, but they knew better than to interfere with a fight like this. If Sil had still been the same Gible that Ash had been introduced to, they would have been in trouble. Thankfully, he was more than able to defend himself, and his trainer, now.

Triton sent him a glare before disappearing into the woods. All of the team realized why he had been selected to find the other trainer, and it wasn't for his tracking skills. Ash still didn't trust him with the more difficult opponents. Which really wasn't true, but Ash knew better than to correct the thoughts.

Still, he had to focus on the fight in front of him. He would worry about how to make it up to his dark ninja later. He watched as the other Gabite raced towards Silvanus again, this time tucking his head lower. It wouldn't work, Ash knew that, but this brawl was about to get bloody.

"Slash. Grab it, then use dragon pulse." Did he feel bad when the other Gabite got hit in the face by the powerful dragon move? Yes, a little bit. Did that mean he was going to go easy on it? No way.

The other dragon took the first move to the back, where Sil twisted them around, before blasting the Gabite with dragon pulse. The royal purple energy landed explosively on the other dragon, making it go flying towards Ash. He ducked as Sil raced towards his side, catching his prey in his sharp claws and forcing him towards another tree instead.

"Duel Chop, Metal Claw." Ash commanded easily. This wasn't just a territory fight; this was a massacre. Still, Ash wasn't inclined to stop Silvanus any time soon. This dragon needed a reality lesson, and one in respect as well, and Sil was more than happy to teach it. "Finish it with Twister."

Sil had grown into a confident, protective, well rounded fighter. The way he played the other Gabite proved that their training was finally paying off. Sil wouldn't have any trouble against Lt. Surge, and he would be able to take on Erica as well. He had known that all of his Pokémon were growing, but he hadn't realized how much they had changed until now.

It would take some time, he knew, to realize that his team wasn't defenseless anymore. It also meant that he didn't have to turn down a battle when Lillian, Blake, Vesper, or Gary challenged him. A slow smirk grew on his face as Sil captured the other Gabite in his twister. No more having to be the weakest link.

He could get used to that.

Still, he had a lot more to work on before his team was actually ready to challenge the stronger members of the league. Right now, Bara and Icelos needed the most work. He was honestly surprised that his Larvitar hadn't evolved yet, especially because he was obsessed with getting stronger. Then again, Icelos had to be dreading the time he would spend as a Pupitar. He would have to be completely still, stuck in a cocoon of bedrock and metal. Eventually, though, he would have to give in and evolve if he wanted to one day be a Tyranitar. For an active Pokémon like Icelos, being confined like that would be hell.

Bara had the opposite problem. He wanted to evolve, he craved it so badly that Ash could practically taste it, but he couldn't. It had to be difficult to know that it was possible the rest of the team would be fully evolved by the time he became a Zweilous. It had to eat at him that he would be considered the weakest for so long. Ash, admittedly, didn't make things better for his starter. He used Triton more often than Barastyr, and he babied his starter more than the actual baby of the team.

He didn't mean to, but Deino were notoriously difficult to raise, and his was already forcing him to learn how to adapt. They were so easy to injure that they almost always had at least a dozen open wounds on them. Heck, he spent some time every single night spraying Bara with a potion or two so that he could sleep without pain. By the time they ate breakfast in the morning, Barastyr would already have a bleeding wound or two.

Because of that, Ash was more reluctant to use Bara in any type of battle that could get him hurt. He would have to learn to work around the need to keep his starter safe though, if Bara was ever going to grow strong enough to evolve.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and fought back a laugh. Sil had sat down on the other Gabite, just in case it woke up and tried to attack again. Viridios was still circling around above them, seemingly irritated about something. Oceanius had gone back to his hole to sleep. Icelos and Bara hadn't yet dared to move away from his side. Their instincts, along with Anubis, were screaming at them to get rid of the threat to their trainer.

He heard the brush moving and stiffened his spine. Triton was coming back with the other Gabite's trainer. Ash knew exactly how he would have reacted had he seen Silvanus in the same position as the other Gabite with enemy Pokémon surrounding him. He would have been furious and lost in a haze of bloodlust if one of his Pokémon had been captured.

Ash was expecting the other trainer to yell, scream, and attack. He wasn't expecting the other boy to look around, lock eyes with his Pokémon, and just sigh. The other trainer seemed to be around his age, with spiked green hair, grey- blue eyes, a white button up shirt, white traveling jeans, and a blue jacket. He was being escorted by Triton, who was glaring daggers at a Gallade. The psychic Pokémon seemed more exasperated than actually upset.

The boy shook his head slightly at the sight of his Pokémon as he walked towards Silvanus and his Gabite. Sil allowed it, which meant that he wasn't expecting the boy to be a threat to his master. "What did you get yourself into this time, Mordred?" He whispered to his friend, before recalling him. Once the strange dragon had been recalled, the boy looked sheepishly towards Ash. "I'm sorry about him. He just evolved yesterday, and he's been having trouble keeping out of trouble."

Ash just shrugged awkwardly. He wasn't good around people, nor did he want to be. Still, he had a few ideas how to help the boy with his own dragon, but he wasn't sure how well his advice would be received. "It's, uh, fine. You might want to have your Gallade beat him down a few times though."

The boy blinked at him in confusion, before straightening his spine. "Ah, sorry, I can't believe I'm being so rude. My name is Wally, Wally Ainsworth. This is Arthur, he's my starter. I'm from the Hoenn Region, by the way, and I just got here last week."

"Ash Ketchum. Nice to meet you." Bara grumbled by his side, catching his trainer's attention. Ash scooped up his starter automatically, before introducing him as well. The rest of his team looked just as uncomfortable as he felt, except for V, who seemed to want to test himself against Wally's starter, and Oceanius, who couldn't care less if he tried to.

"How many badges do you have, Ash?" Wally asked, curiously.

He just shrugged. "One for now."

Wally moved his stormy blue eyes over the other trainer's team, before looking back at Ash. The unspoken question was obvious, and one that he had been expecting to hear for a long time.

"They weren't ready." He answered, knowing that there was no way to answer the other boy's question without explaining that he was only using his dragons in official battles, and trying to make the boy understand that dragons grew so much slower than other Pokémon, something he should have already realized since he had a Gabite.

That was when he realized something strange, this boy seemed comfortable. He was completely and totally alright with being surrounded by dragons and dark types. That was extremely weird. No one was completely comfortable with his team besides him, but there was this green haired boy who was more than happy to come over to Ash's side, shake his hand, even though he had Barastyr in his arms, and sat down on a log that Ash had been sitting on a few hours prior.

Wally seemed to accept his answer, before tilting his head slightly, preparing another question. The green haired trainer glanced towards the Gallade, getting a nod from his partner, before turning back to Ash. "Would you mind if we stayed here tonight? Arthur thinks that you might be able to help us reign in Mordred, and the others, apparently, will get along with your team too."

Ash blinked at that. Arthur? Right, the Gallade. It was a psychic/ fighting duel type, and probably had mentally linked to his trainer forever ago, especially if Arthur was Wally's starter. He shrugged, more to himself than as an answer to Wally's question. He had never bothered sharing a campsite with anyone. He wasn't social enough to make people comfortable around him for long periods of time. No one wanted to hear what he had to say, and no one wanted his advice.

Except that, apparently, this other boy did. He was clearly a strong trainer, and he had a strong bond with his starter, but Ash was hesitant. He didn't like not knowing what to say, but he just shoved the feeling back. If Wally wanted to spend the night, or what was left of it, in his camp, then that was fine.

"Will your team mind if I send out mine?" Wally asked. Ash froze, making Wally backtrack with waving hands. "Except for Mordred. He needs a timeout. I meant my other Pokémon. I don't have any other dragons, so we shouldn't have any territory issues, and I don't have any Pokémon that will freak out on your team."

Ash glanced towards Anubis, questioning if he would be able to keep his temper, while keeping the rest of the team under control. All Anu offered was an indelicate shrug. He wouldn't cause any problems if they didn't bug him. Barastyr just grumbled at him in annoyance, agreeing with Anubis. As long as the other Pokémon didn't try to threaten their trainer, they would behave. "Yeah, okay."

Wally sent him a blinding smile as he tossed four Pokéballs overhead. The first to form was a giant red and grey bird Pokémon. That was the only Pokémon he didn't recognize. The other three were easier, Magneton, an electric type Pokémon that looked like three magnets that were stuck together, Roselia, a grass type Pokémon that had two roses as hands, Azumarill, a water type Pokémon that was mostly blue, except for speckles that seemed like it was dipped in white paint.

"This is Lancelot, he's a Talonflame. Then we have Percival, my Magneton, Guinevere, my Roselia, Gwaine is my Azumarill, Arthur, of course, and Mordred is my Gabite." At their names, each of the Pokémon bowed their heads. It was funny that Wally apparently had a team of respectful Pokémon who listened to him, except for one. "Lance is my first capture, and Mordred is my newest." He explained.

Ash watched the other boy for a few seconds, before he decided to return the favor. "Barastyr is my starter, Oceanius is my Seadra, and my first capture. Anubis is the Krokorok, Viridios is the Vibrava, never take an eye off him, Icelos is my Larvitar, Triton is one of my newest, he's the Frogadier, and Silvanus, of course, is my Gabite."

Wally waved to each of Ash's Pokémon, seemingly content with the introductions. As soon as his stormy blue eyes landed on Silvanus, though, they sharpened to a steely grey. "Silvanus must be pretty strong to be able to beat Mordred."

Ash bit back a laugh. "He's getting there. It takes some time for all Gabite to learn how to use their new bodies. Sil's had more time to get used to being more than just a giant mouth. He's built for speed compared to yours." He gestured for Silvanus to come to his side and sat down next to the dragon type. "He's a little taller, and a little thinner than yours. Mordred is broader, and stouter. Because of that, the way that they attack is going to be different. Sil is fond of getting in close, then slashing or blasting his opponents, before backing up again. He and V are my two fastest, Triton's getting there, and are almost impossible to catch if they are in the mood to torment."

"So how could Mordred have beaten Silvanus?" Wally asked, leaning his chin on his hands.

He paused for a moment, taking a second to think about the question. "Well, I'm guessing that your Gabite is physically stronger than mine, and once he has a hold on something, its probably almost impossible to get free. Your Gabite is built like a tank. Mine is built more like a missile." Ash tilted his head slightly, replaying the battle in his head. "As to how he could have won, if he had caught Sil when he was being hit by an attack, Sil probably wouldn't have been able to get away quick enough. Catching an opponent like Silvanus mid- hit is probably the best way to win against them."

"Huh, so you think in Mordred's case, having a stronger attack and defense would have helped him win?"

Ash just nodded. Triton croaked from across the camp, stealing his attention away from the other trainer. Huh. Well, okay then. Triton seemed to be trying to talk to the Azumarill, not that it was working very well. His Pokémon were just as awkward around strangers as he was. He felt kind of bad for his mischievous Pokémon, all Triton wanted was for an older water type to show him the ropes. Since there was no way that Oceanius would bother, he was kind of out of luck.

He glanced around, catching sight of his most anti-social Pokémon, Anubis, Icelos, and Barastyr, trying not to cause trouble when Wally's Gallade walked over to them and sat down next to the trio. V was chittering happily with the Talonflame while circling overhead. Ash couldn't stop a snort of laughter at that. If the other Pokémon wasn't careful, Viridios would try to cripple it. Sil was staying close by, never letting his boy get further than an arm's length away from him. While the Gabite would have enjoyed socializing, his instincts were still screaming at him that another Pokémon had almost hurt his trainer, and he wasn't okay with that. Until he got a chance to look his boy over, he wouldn't let anything get close enough to hurt him.

Of course, Oceanius was still hiding away from the others, ehem, denying them of the pleasure of his presence. He didn't hide. Nope, not him. He just didn't see the point in even pretending that he wanted to be around the others. That was what he was going with, and he dared any of the others to say that he wasn't telling the truth.

Ash was tempted, as always, to just have Oceanius alone for a while, just to see if his friend would lighten up again. He was the most regal, for now, and he knew it. Not that Ash was surprised in the slightest. Still, soon enough, he would have just the two of them relaxing somewhere together.

The dark-haired boy jumped as something touched his side, turning his attention back to the green haired boy whose eyes were lit up in silent laugher.

"You haven't been a trainer very long, have you?" Wally asked teasingly.

He just shrugged. "About a month and three weeks."

The green haired trainer seemed to freeze at that. "You've done all of this in less than two months?"

It wasn't as much as the other Pallet Town Trainers had done, and it wasn't that impressive to him, but he had managed to find and build his team. He had done a lot, and spent every single day working with his team towards their eventual goals. Still, he had done more than he thought. He had managed to evolve several of his Pokémon. He had helped some of them start to heal. He had Anubis back by his side.

He was still new to this kind of life, true, but he was happy, for the first time in a long time.

"I've been a trainer for over a year, and I've had Mordred for the better part of the last six months, and he just evolved. How did you already manage to-"

"I'm a specialist." Ash interrupted. "I've spent half my life now learning about dragons and dark types. Because I'm a specialist, I know how to help my dragons grow, what kinds of training works best, and how to encourage them towards their evolutions."

It was impressive, though, that Wally had only been a trainer for a year, yet he had a powerful team at his disposal. Both the Talonflame and the Gallade would have been practically impossible for him to beat at the level he was at.

The other thing that Wally hadn't considered is who's apprentice he was. As one of the Pallet Town Trainers, even without a typical Kanto Titan by his side, he was expected to go far. The trainers who didn't have a professor keeping an eye on them usually didn't even make it to the conference. He was trained by Professor Oak, and that meant he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders to make it to the tournament, just like Blake, Lillian- Rose, Vesper, and Gary probably all would.

It had been almost eight years since one of Professor Oak's Prodigy's didn't make it at least that far, and that was because the trainer in question had decided that they wanted to master the contest world instead of the battling one. Still, they all had an image to keep up for the man who had given them their licenses. He wouldn't be a disappointment to one of the few people who believed in him.

Even at their weakest, the five of them had more powerful starters than most trainers. It wasn't just because they were the Kanto Titans, but because Professor Oak was extremely picky about pairing certain personalities together. Practically all the Charmander's at the Ranch were related to Professor Oak's own Charizard. All of the Squirtle were related to the same Blastoise, one that supposedly could beat the Elite Four practically alone. Even the Bulbasaur were super powerful compared to the Pokémon found in the wilds. The five of them had no reason not to succeed.

He spared a few seconds to wonder where the other Pallet Town Trainers were, and how far ahead they had pulled while he was enjoying his time, relaxing, and training. If he was right, they had at least three or four badges by now, and their starters were all in their final stages. Probably. Well, besides Blake, the only other one of them who didn't have a titan at his disposal. His Solosis had probably evolved once, maybe.

He hid a sigh and stared into the darkness ahead of them. He hated being left behind.

"Where are you headed to next?" Wally asked randomly.

Ash glanced towards his starter. "Well, I was thinking about challenging Erica next, even though I'd probably have an easier time with Surge. I'm kind of curious to see how my team would do against her."

Wally hummed lowly, his eyes lighting up at that. "I'm headed towards Celadon myself. I've already got Surges Badge. I came up this way for some practice before I headed back towards Pokémon Tech. Do you maybe want to…?"

He blinked. Camping with another trainer was one thing, but traveling?

Before he could say anything, Wally turned back to him, eyes wide in a pout that no one who had a Pokémon, let alone a team, should use. "Please? You can help me with Mordred, and I'll let your team beat him up a few times. I haven't had a companion since I left Hoenn, and I'd rather have some sort of back up if I got into some sort of problem. Please? Pretty please?"

It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Still, he could see just how lonely the other boy had to be to offer to share a camp with a total stranger. Ash let out a sigh of resignation. He knew that there was no way to get rid of the other boy, especially because they were going in the same direction.

Anubis let out a grumbling roar, practically daring his trainer to accept the offer. Especially because they both knew that Ash would get tired of the company after a few hours. The dark haired trainer could see Anubis' dark eyes lit up in a dare, one he was certain his boy wouldn't take.

Maybe it was just exhaustion, maybe it was because of the challenge. Whatever the cause, Ash agreed to travel together, for now, with Wally.


	16. Chapter 16

Usually, I wouldn't be posting a new chapter quite so soon, but, in honor of, well, me, I figured why not. Technically, this is my birthday gift to myself, or will be on the 8th. I was originally, going to do a massive chapter, this one was at 13k, but I decided to leave it where it is, seeing as its still almost 8k. FYI, I'm putting both Ash's list and Wally's list up. When I have more than just Ash, in a group setting, I'll add in their Pokémon as well. From my list, which is stupidly long, very few trainers actually bother nicknaming their team. Occasionally, one or two in an entire team will have a nickname, and sometimes, none will. Its just my luck that freaking Wally of all people has nicknames for his entire team.

Alright, here's our usual list:

Ash's Pokemon

On Hand:

Deino- Barastyr

Krokorok- Anubis

Seadra- Oceanius

Gabite- Silvanus

Larvitar- Icelos

Vibrava- Viridios

Frogadier- Triton

At the Lab:

Bagon- Megara

Dratini- Nephthys

Litten- Erebus

Cleffa- Pandora

Axew-Hades

With Bill:

Fearow

Wally's Team

Gallade- Arthur

Talonflame- Lancelot

Magnemite- Percival

Azumarill- Gwaine

Roselia- Guinevere

Gabite- Mordred

* * *

Something was very wrong, and he had no idea what it was. Golden eyes flashed open, glancing around the clearing he had made his camp. The sun was starting to rise, but that wasn't what had awakened him. No, there was something very wrong.

He glanced around the camp, eyes pausing for a moment at the addition of another human in his camp, and the person's Pokémon apparently, before moving on to his own team. They all looked fine, but there was something wrong, something not quite right. Anubis was standing, crouched over something, and Barastyr stayed back, by his side. It only took a few seconds to realize what was happening.

With a small sigh, he pushed his sleeping bag off of him and moved Icelos, Triton, and Barastyr from his side. All three of them had been crowding him, again. As little as he wanted to wake up his team, he had no choice.

Getting up, he moved over to Anubis, watching as he tried to sooth their trapped teammate. Sil, it seemed, was having his first nightmare since evolving. Anu was doing everything he could to help, hissing softly to attempt to calm him, but it wasn't enough. As much as he wanted to hold his Silvanus like he did when he was still a Gible he couldn't. As a Gabite, practically his entire body was a weapon, and he wouldn't be able to suppress the panic he was feeling.

"Oh, Sil." He sighed as he knelt next to Anu. "Its time to wake up bud." It was difficult to keep his voice soft, but he managed it. He had hoped that Silvanus wouldn't have nightmares anymore, but it seemed like he couldn't get rid of them. He carefully reached out and touched the Gabite's head, softly stroking the rough scales. "You're safe, Anu and I have you."

It hurt to watch his usually protective dragon whine and restlessly move in his sleep. He leaned against Anubis as the two of them worked to pull Silvanus out of his dreams. It was a slow process, but eventually, it worked, and Silvanus opened his golden eyes.

This wasn't a new thing, not in the slightest, but it was new that Sil was big enough to lightly tackle his trainer and wrap his arms around him. Ash sighed quietly, stroking Sil's head. He carefully gestured for Anubis to go back to bed. The sandy croc glared at him, annoyed, but didn't move. There was no reason to go back to bed now. They were all awake, and there was no way Silvanus was going to go to sleep.

Anubis knew it, Sil knew it, and so did Ash. Which was why when Anu disappeared into the woods around their clearing, he wasn't worried.

Sil tightened his clawed arms around his trainer, making Ash shush him calmly. The trainer shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. While it had been a while since he had needed to do this, it didn't make it any less familiar.

Fifteen minutes later, and Silvanus was finally ready to let him go. Slowly, the two of them separated. Ash got up, letting his Pokémon have a few more minutes to pull himself together. His golden eyes scanned the campsite, waiting until his team was paying attention to him.

"All right guys get ready for the normal morning exercises. Pairs are: Bara and Elos, Nius and Anu, Sil and Tri. V, you're on dodging duty. Stay close enough for me to find you, but do not disturb our guest. Got it?"

When he was done with their typical morning orders, Ash started his own routine of cleaning up. Some things he couldn't do himself, such as filling Oceanius' sleeping hole, but most of the packing wouldn't take very long. He would also start getting his breakfast ready, as well as setting out food for his team when they were done with their warmup. As with every morning, he wondered if this would be the one that would finally push Icelos into evolving.

He hid a snort of laughter at the thought. Poor Elos. The funny part was that Barastyr, more so than any other member of his team, wanted Icelos to evolve, if only so he wouldn't be able to fight back against the torment his little dragon would use on the rock type. Icelos, once he was stuck in his cocoon, would be practically helpless against whatever Bara would do to him.

How those two never got along, he would never know. They were pretty similar in a lot of ways, both loners, both independent, both pranksters, yet they couldn't stand each other. They bickered constantly, worse than Neph and Oceanius, and would wait until his back was turned to find ways to bother each other.

Not that Anu was any better. He couldn't stand either of the other Pokémon. Ash was convinced that Barastyr and Anubis loathed each other, honestly. Not that he was particularly surprised. All three of them were starters, in their own way. Icelos had belonged to another trainer before the whole Mount Moon tragedy, Barastyr was his actual starter, but Anubis was the Pokémon that had accidently taken the role of Ash's starter without either of them noticing it.

It wasn't something they meant to happen; it was natural for them to trust each other more than anyone else. It wasn't fair to Barastyr, but neither of them knew how to change it. Bara just wasn't overprotective like Anubis. He wasn't the type who could comfort the others, unlike Anubis, who just didn't like to. He wasn't the type that any new Pokémon could go to in order to get a feel for the team. It just wasn't in his personality to be the take charge type.

Anubis and Ash had a type of trust that Barastyr and Ash just never developed. That wasn't to say that Bara wouldn't eventually take back over the position of the leader, but for now, he seemed more content to just wait for his time in the shadows.

As much as he hated to admit it, Barastyr had been withdrawing from him since Anubis evolved. He was certain that it was mostly from jealousy, that Anubis had evolved when it was still so far away for him.

He needed to fix things between the two of them, but he wasn't sure how to. He just didn't see the same things that Bara did. Maybe some one on one time would help his starter feel more confident again.

Probably more of two on one, or three on two, honestly. He always had V out, flying around in front of them in case there was a problem, and he had a feeling that his new companion always had the Gallade by his side. It might do them both some good to get some extra time together.

An hour later, he whistled sharply, a sound that his Pokémon knew was his way of recalling them to his side. By this point, all of Wally's Pokémon were awake, even if their trainer was still sleeping. Arthur, Wally's Gallade, gave him a sharp look for the noise. He wasn't particularly thrilled with the thought of having even more noise around his trainer.

Little did the psychic type know, Ash's team was always quiet in the mornings. They were used to their own trainer wanting peace and quiet. Ash dished up his breakfast, a simple trainer meal that was supposed to be some kind of beef thing, after all of the Pokémon had their own breakfasts in front of them. He had to get creative to find the dishes needed, but he managed. If any of Wally's Pokémon had any sort of dietary restrictions, none of them bothered to let him know.

He sighed to himself before looking at Gallade, wondering if the Pokémon wanted to wake up his trainer or have him do it. To his surprise, Gallade's eyes took on a mischievous twinkle as he gestured for Azumarill to get their trainer. Ash watched as the Pokémon shot a few weak bubbles at his trainer, just enough to drench him, but not enough to hurt the other boy.

To his surprise, Wally's Pokémon fell over in laughter as the green haired boy shot up, yelping in surprise as the water bubbles popped over his face. The other boy immediately stood and started chewing out his team, not seriously, Ash knew. It was clear that this happened often, and no one was particularly mad about it.

Ash couldn't imagine reaching that level of comradery with his team, having them tease him like Wally's did. To be fair, it was possible. He had several pranksters on his team, Icelos more than any of the others, and maybe one day, he would be comfortable enough to act like that with his trainer.

As soon as they had all eaten, and Wally's things were packed away, the two headed out towards Saffron, knowing that they would make it there in less than an hour. Ash, as per usual, had Bara and Viridios out, his starter preferring to be carried today while V practiced his aerobics above them. Wally had released Arthur, his Gallade, and Lancelot, his Talonflame. Thankfully, it seemed like Wally wasn't in the mood to talk as much today, at least to him, and kept himself busy by randomly poking Arthur when the Pokémon least expected it.

Before long, they reached the City limits. Ash paused mid step to take in the view. Everything here was sleek, for lack of a better word. Buildings made of glass that had been tinted to prevent people from looking inside littered the skyline. There was an almost gothic feel to this place, and very little in terms of color. Almost everything was either shining Obsidian in color, or a light devouring purple. This definitely seemed like the home of the most powerful psychic in the world.

It was intimidating, in a way, how many lesser psychics seemed to be drawn here. He could see at least a dozen people walking around that had that strange blue/ purple glow around them. No one seemed even slightly surprised that some of the people were walking around while using their abilities.

He wasn't sure if it was because half of his team were dark types, but something caused a shiver to go down his spine. Then again, this was the home of Sabrina, one of the more powerful gym leaders, though no one knew how powerful she could be. She had slammed her way through the Indigo League when she was eleven, was taken in as an Ace Trainer shortly after that, and had opened her own gym, at just fifteen. Now, at nineteen, she was the second youngest, Brock was a year younger, and one of the four most powerful.

No one was sure which one was more powerful, Koga, Blaine, Sabrina, or Giovanni, but they were all extremely dangerous. If it went by the number of badges given out per year, it would have been a tie between Blaine and Giovanni. Still, Koga was likely going to become a member of the Elite Four sooner or later, as lady Agatha was more than ready to retire, and Sabrina's powers grew every year.

It was interesting, in a way, how much power he could feel leaking from the buildings around him. Again, he wondered if it was because of his Pokémon, but he discarded the thought. He was probably overly sensitive to the energies because of his mother, who left him with Mimey and Star, her Mr. Mime and Clefable, for the majority of his childhood.

He glanced over at his companion, trying to see if he was affected as well. As a trainer who started with a psychic Pokémon himself, Wally should have been more sensitive to the energies than he was. The green haired boy was shivering, like he had been, but smiling contently. Both Wally and Arthur seemed to bask in the energy, while he and Bara put up with it because they had no choice in the matter.

Ash looked around tiredly, noticing how he was already feeling more exhausted than he had been a few minutes prior. In his arms, Bara snapped his jaw a few times, angry that his trainer had brought him here. Places that had extreme amounts of psychic or ghostly energy made him grumpy. Why couldn't they go somewhere that had dark energy for once?

Ash glanced down at Bara, wishing he could scold his starter, but he was just as uncomfortable. "Where's the Pokémon Center?" He asked Wally quietly. He didn't want to disturb the other, but he wanted to get to some of his other Pokémon as soon as he could, he missed his team, badly. He missed his little princesses, more than he was expecting too, and his steady, curious friend in Hades. If Wally was alright with it, he planned on switching his team, going back out of the city for the night, then coming back and switching them around again to the team he was taking with him to Celadon.

He didn't want to spend a lot of time here, he just wanted to get to Celadon, then he would be forced back here again to get down to Vermilion City. He would be back here eventually, he wouldn't have a choice, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to put it off for as long as he could.

Wally seemed to shake himself out of the energy, before leading him forwards, through the tall, obsidian buildings. The longer they walked, the louder the growl that Bara unconsciously released. He looked up, trying to find where V would be flying, but there was nothing. He paused for a few seconds, looking more thoroughly for his Pokémon. It wasn't rare for V to fly ahead, but he always circled back around to keep an eye on his trainer. As a dragon and ground type, he shouldn't be having any problems with the energy here. Still, Ash couldn't find him anywhere. He bent down and carefully placed Bara on the ground beside him, before whistling sharply.

He waited, eyes peeled towards the skies, for V to come into view.

"Huh." Wally muttered, jabbing him in the side with a pointy elbow to get his attention.

Ash glanced at the green haired boy, trying to figure out what he wanted this time, before blinking in confusion. There was a kid in front of them crawling on his stomach, wiggling around like a Caterpie. Another kid was flopping around like a Magikarp.

He and Wally exchanged looks, knowing that something was very wrong here. It was a bit of a surprise, if only because Sabrina was notoriously unstable when it came to protecting her city, and she didn't let anyone fool around like this. She never would have let this go on for longer than a few minutes, before tracing the source of the energy back and destroying whatever was messing with the peace.

He recalled Barastyr, glancing back up to try and find V. He always came when Ash whistled for him. Unless of course, he couldn't. "Somethings got Viridios." He told Wally, shoulders stiffening in barely restrained panic. If any of his Pokémon were able to stand up for themselves, it would be V. Whatever had him would have had to work hard to keep V in their grip for longer than a few seconds. "Can Arthur trace his energy, or do I need to go the old-fashioned way?"

Wally glanced at his Gallade, tilting his head slightly in a silent question. "We'll try, but something else is going on, and he wants to find a way to stop it more than he wants to find your Vibrava. Besides, Lance is with him, right?"

"That means something has both of our Pokémon." He pointed out, hand resting on Anubis' Pokéball. "We need to get them back. Look around, none of these kids are in danger, yet, but our Pokémon could be."

Gallade seemed to sigh, but nod in agreement. It could probably track Talonflame better than V, because Arthur was more familiar with his teammate than a strange Pokémon. The Pokémon led them forwards, following an invisible link to his teammate. While they could have simply teleported to Lancelot's location, both Wally and Arthur agreed that going through the city would provide more answers than teleportation could.

It helped that Saffron City gave all psychic types a natural boost because of the energy that naturally gathered here. He was more powerful than usual, and he was far from a weakling to begin with. Still, he could trace the energy to two separate sources. One that had his teammate, as well as the broken one, but the second was controlling the children. As an emotion-based Pokémon, Arthur could feel the devastation of parents trying to rescue their children from whatever was making them act like this.

Both the Gallade and his trainer had a hypothesis, but they were hesitant in sharing it with an outsider, no matter how much Wally wanted to trust the boy. It was impossible for Arthur to put any amount of trust in the other boy because of how viciously he had beaten down Mordred. No Pokémon deserved the beatdown and humiliation that Ash's Pokémon had delivered to Mo.

That didn't mean that the boy was without his uses. Wally attempted to disagree, but it was difficult from what he knew about the darker haired boy. Arthur wanted to split up, having his boy go after the threat to the younger children, but they couldn't simply ditch Ash. Or, they could, Arthur reminded his boy, teleportation was useful like that.

There were two threats, though, and they could always send the boy after Lancelot, which would keep him out of their way. Even if there was trouble, Lance could help protect them. There was a very small chance that if they sent Ash to the weaker threat, he would get hurt. If they mentioned the stronger threat, Ash would feel obligated to go after that instead.

Or would he? Wally was fairly certain that he would choose to go after his Vibrava before he would care about anyone else.

Arthur saw something out of the corner of his eye and quickly teleported to help a child that was flopping along the edge of a fountain like a Magikarp. As soon as the girl, probably four or so, was safe, Arthur met his trainer's eyes. They couldn't waste any more time debating this anymore.

Wally silently agreed. This situation was too dangerous to leave unresolved. "Do you see that really tall tower? Silph Co's building? Arthur says Lance is up there, and I'd bet that your Pokémon is there too. We'll need backup, though, so while you go and get them, I'll try and get a hold of Sabrina. There's a lot of bad things happening- "

Ash turned and headed towards the building. Unlike what people thought, he wasn't stupid. There was something else going on, that was obvious as hell, but he didn't care what it was. He just wanted his Pokémon back. If Wally wanted to deal with whatever else was happening, then he could easily do so. Ash wasn't going to stop him.

He hid a mental curse, veering off course towards the Pokémon center instead. Most of his powerful Pokémon were with him, obviously, but there was one that was nowhere near ready for any high-level battles, and that was Triton. The Pokémon was nowhere near the same level of his others. Triton would just slow them down, which meant that he wasn't going to put himself, or the rest of his team in danger because of the one Pokémon that would need the extra protection.

Going through his list of possibilities, he considered his choices. Nephthys, Megara, Pandora, Hades. None of them could fly, though Neph could float. None of them were airborne yet, and wouldn't be any time soon. He didn't have anything that could fly, besides V.

Or did he?

Technically, he had Fearow, or well, Bill had Fearow. It was a strong Pokémon, but it wasn't likely to obey him, and there was practically no way that Fearow would be an asset in the battle. Except for his wings. He considered it for a few moments, never faltering his steps. Eventually, he decided against it. Fearow would have to be something that he worked with before it could become the powerful ally, he knew that the Pokémon could be.

For the first time in a while, he wished he wasn't a specialist. He knew that at least a few of the others had a flying Pokémon that would be helpful in a situation like this. Damn it, where were they when he actually needed them?

He knew they were ahead, so freaking far ahead, but they couldn't already be at their sixth badge, right?

Mentally shaking off the thoughts, he made his way inside the white and red building, ignoring everyone around him, and headed straight for the PC section. He needed to exchange Triton for someone else.

Punching in the number for the Professor's Lab, he waited impatiently for the older man to pick up. As soon as the older man's face appeared on the screen, he cut in before Oak could say a single word. "I need to switch a Pokémon, as quick as possible."

V was waiting for him, he couldn't be bothered with niceties, not when Viridios was in danger. He made a mental note to apologize for being so short with the man, but that would only happen after his Vibrava was safe again.

Thankfully, the man seemed to understand his rush, and simply told him that the only Pokémon of his that was inside was Megara. She wasn't the one he preferred, but she would listen, and help, which was all he could really ask for. "That works. I'm sending my Frogadier over."

He pulled Triton's Pokéball from his belt and put it in the slot that would exchange the two. Thankfully, within a minute, he was putting Megara in Triton's spot on his belt.

He nodded to the professor once he confirmed that Triton made it safely and was about to hang up when the Professor told him something that made him pause. Vesper was in Saffron. He thanked the man, and hung up, heading towards Nurse Joy.

If he was in the center, then Ash would drag him along. He had a really bad feeling that he would need backup, even if it came in the form of the most vicious of the Pallet Town Trainers. If there was one thing that he knew about Vesper, it was that he didn't put up with weakness. While it was normally a trait that he loathed about the other boy, it would come in handy.

After a very, very short conversation, he left the Pokémon center. Apparently, Vesper had a room here for another day or two, but he wasn't currently in the center. Great. So much for that idea. He took a deep breath and tried to reassure himself that he'd be fine without anyone else by his side.

With that taken care of, he headed towards Silph Co. He had a Vibrava to rescue. Because of the number of strange things happening, he very carefully chose to let Icelos and Megara out to keep him safe for now.

The next question, he told himself, was exactly how he was getting inside Silph Co. He couldn't cheat by flying to the roof, but that didn't mean he had to let anyone else know that he was panicking. He straightened his jacket and made sure his face was perfectly blank as he headed inside.

The receptionist was kind enough to tell him that he could take the stairs, as the doors to the actual floors were locked to outsiders without a keycard. Apparently, it wasn't strange for a trainer, especially a younger one, to want to see the view from the top of Silph Co. It made her think that he was just another, weak, useless, trainer, but that didn't matter to him.

He wasn't particularly looking forward to all those stairs, as there were thirty floors, if he was right. Withdrawing both of his Pokémon, he headed up, and up, and up. His Pokémon didn't yet have the stamina to keep up with him, and there was no way he was risking them being exhausted before they got to the actual fight.

Eventually, he reached the top of the stairs. He released a few of his team, Oceanius, Silvanus, and Anubis, before opening the door. He bolted forwards after his Pokémon and headed directly for the nearest cover he could find. He took a few seconds to take in what he could see. Several people, including Vesper, of freaking course, and Pokémon were being held down by psychic power. A few were completely unconscious.

Not Vesper though. Oh no, he could feel the annoyance and disgust of pure black eyes keeping him in sight. To his surprise, Vesper's Pokémon, Charmander, or probably Charizard by now, and the Spheal he had gotten from the Professor were nowhere to be seen. That either meant that he didn't have them, which was doubtful, or he hadn't gotten a chance to send them out.

He ignored the jet black eyes watching him and moved his eyes to where Viridios was being held down. He could practically see V vibrating in annoyance from having to be rescued, but he didn't look like he was hurt. Thank Arceus.

Once he was sure that his Pokémon was safe, he looked around for whatever could be keeping his Pokémon down. It had to be powerful enough to stop V, and Wally's Talonflame was no slouch either.

His team fanned out, keeping only Megara and Icelos by his side while the others assessed the situation. Even Barastyr, surprisingly, was helping the others. In fact, Bara was the first of his team to go to V's side. He hid a smile at that. It was about time.

Still, he couldn't see what was keeping them down. That meant that whatever it was had to be invisible, hiding, or simply not here. He didn't want to think about the last one. For a Pokémon to be so powerful that it could keep down half a dozen people and two Pokémon without being near meant that he was completely out of his league. Keeping his team in sight, he knelt next to Vesper.

"Can you move at all?" He asked the other trainer, getting an eye roll as a response. "That's something, I guess. Is the psychic still here? One blink for yes, two for no."

Vesper blinked once, extremely slowly in a sort of exaggerated manner. Ash had no doubt that the other boy was making fun of him in his head. That was just how Vesper had always been. His tongue could tear someone to shreds when he was in the mood.

Out of all of them, only Vesper had the ability to piss people off without doing anything more than rolling his eyes. He was mean, cruel, but he was a talented trainer, and an even better strategist. He had a habit of finding the most powerful allies and making sure they were so entrapped in his web that they could never escape.

In fact, Ash was positive that the fact that he was here, just seeing what he was, would be enough to make Vesper loathe him a little more. The other three would be grateful if he could help them in any way, if they were in this situation. But not Vesper. Never Vesper.

"Good to know. Did you see what took you down?"

This time, Vesper blinked twice. No, he hadn't seen what had caught his body in an impossible to break form. Huh. So he hadn't seen what had got him, but he had seen whatever it was later, in order to still know that it was here.

Ash breathed out a breath, trying to figure out how to disrupt the psy-

Was it that easy?

"If this doesn't work, you have my full permission to make fun of me later." He warned, being careful to keep his voice steady. If he could disrupt the psychic's hold on the trainer, then hopefully, Vesper would be able to help him take out whatever it was. "Meg, switch with Barastyr. I need him."

While technically, this would have probably worked better with Anubis, he hadn't second guessed himself when he realized that Bara was the Pokémon for the job. Psychics, even the most powerful of the typing, were weak against dark types. A strong dark type could shrug off a psychic attack without even trying. It helped, he supposed, that Bara had always been better with his dark type energy than his dragon energy. While as a dragon type, Barastyr still had a long way to go before he could master himself, as a dark type Pokémon, with the attitude to prove it occasionally, he was more than ready for something like this.

Thankfully, Bara bound over to him without thinking about it, while Megara took over his vigil by V's side. With both Icelos, who was surprisingly good at manipulating dark energy even if he was still a Rock and Ground type, they might have a chance at disrupting the connection.

"Bara, I need you to send a pulse, a weak one, of dark energy at me. Icelos, you're on lookout for now. If this works…"

If it worked, he would need Anubis to help free the others, as he was lacking in dark types at the moment.

Bara tilted his head towards his trainer, ignoring the panic in Vesper's eyes as they wildly moved in his skull. Ash just nodded, ruffling Bara's fur with one hand, while the other was placed on Vesper's head, He wouldn't risk doing an immediate transfer of power, but something like this, where the energy would travel through Ash to whatever he was touching hopefully would be enough to disrupt whatever psychic forces that were holding the other boy captive in his own body.

Or so he hoped.

If this went wrong, he knew that Anubis, Silvanus, and Oceanius would be able to fend off the threat while he recovered. Those three, and Viridios, once he was free, would take down whatever the threat was with brutal efficiency. If their trainer was injured, well, they would hold back even less than usual.

This was either the stupidest plan he had ever come up with, or the most intelligent. He rather hoped it was the later.

He gave Bara the go ahead, before a dark, dread, cold, numb feeling raced up his fingertips. It moved from his fingers to his hand, then his arm, resting at the base of his neck. He willed the energy to move down his other arm, trying to mentally wrestle it into doing his bidding. He fought for what felt like hours to keep the energy from moving either to his skull or to his chest, before it finally obeyed his will and slowly sunk down his other arm.

It was very, very, very rare for Ash to agree to be a test dummy, but as soon as the energy touched his fingertips on his left hand, he had to stop the flow. Too much of the energy, especially to someone who wasn't used to working with it, would be enough to get them into shock. If the flow continued, it could cause death.

Still, he could feel it working as it slowly melted past whatever barrier the psychic had put in place. It took every bit of concentration he had to keep it from doing any actually going into Vesper's body, instead of going after the layer on top of his skin. Slowly, very slowly, he felt it breaking.

As soon as Vesper gained control of his head again, he shook off Ash's hand with a dark "watch out" as his only warning. He felt Icelos tense by his side, growling lowly, but Ash and Bara were still trying to control the dark energy from going on a rampage.

Not all of the energy faded, Ash could still feel it under his skin, trying to get free from the cage that was his flesh, but it wasn't enough to actually hurt him. When he finally trusted himself to open his eyes, he took in what was happening around him. V was still down, but not as tightly as before, since his wings were buzzing in place.

Oceanius, Anubis, Silvanus, and Megara were surrounding… something, but whatever it was happened to be holding back all four by itself. He forced himself up, and sent Barastyr to the others. Icelos was the only one who was on guard duty now, but he couldn't say he was particularly worried about himself. He was slightly more worried about how his team was supposed to take down a threat without hurting any of the people who were helplessly stuck on the ground.

He circled around a bit, trying to get a look at whatever was causing the mayhem, but all he saw was a piercing blue wave of energy coming his way too quickly for him to dodge. He mentally cursed as he was thrown towards the edge of the roof. Icelos was able to slow him down some, weighing almost double Ash's weight, but it wasn't enough. They were going to fall, and none of his Pokémon could help. He locked eyes with Viridios, who was struggling as hard as he could against the energy. He could see the panic in V's eyes getting worse with every inch he moved, before something changed.

The shape behind him, which had been a short, barely coming to his knees, tiny rock type, changed. The mass expanded, doubling in size and its weight, thankfully, was enough that he came to a stop. It was only when he registered the look of hesitant relief in V's eyes that he realized what had happened.

Icelos had evolved into a Pupitar in order to keep them in place. He couldn't stop himself from turning his head slightly, just enough to look over his shoulder at the now towering, since he was on his ass, figure of Icelos. He had been stocky as a Larvitar, but he was positively massive as a Pupitar. Ash had no doubt that the Pokémon behind him was easy just about four feet tall, and wide enough that Ash would have trouble wrapping his arms completely around the cocoon.

Icelos, now with smaller, but still familiar blood red eyes, looked at him, checking to make sure his trainer was alright. It was good to know that he had managed to win over the Pupitar. He had no doubt that Icelos would be happily by his side for the rest of their lives. He knew the Pokémon was fond of him, but he had no idea that Icelos would be willing to evolve for him.

Then again, with the haunted look in Icelos' eyes, he wasn't entirely sure that the Pokémon was seeing him at all. There were very few times that he consciously thought about Xander, Icelos' original trainer, and the times that he was glad that he had been paired with the stubborn, ornery rock type, but this was one of them. He had no doubt that he would be dead without Icelos evolving, and he had a feeling that right now, Icelos was seeing Xander instead of Ash.

Picking himself up, he shook off the thoughts. They didn't have time for this right now. When they were safe, he would have a conversation about the Hoenn boy, but that was something that he would worry about later. Right now, his team needed his head in the game.

Still, he smiled at Icelos for a moment, before wiping his expression off of his face. "Don't forget, psychics are weak to dark types, so hit it with everything we've got. Bara, Nius, Sil, keep it off balance, Anubis, get in close and show it exactly who it's messing with."

He had another idea, this one he didn't particularly want, but he knew there was a chance that he would have to catch the psychic, and possibly hand it over to Sabrina. After all, there weren't many psychic Pokémon in Kanto, but Sabrina was a mistress of them, and if anyone could bring a wild, overly powerful psychic to heel, it would be her. Assuming, of course, that he could even catch it. To be fair, he wasn't expecting it to be easy, nor was he-

He jumped left as something shot by over his head. The Pokémon, a fast, powerful fire type, entered the battle. His eyes snapped to Vesper, who had managed to release his starter. While impressive, he could only hope that the Charizard was as powerful as it looked. Because otherwise, they were screwed. He headed towards Viridios careful to keep out of the way of stray fireballs and dark pulses. Right now, he needed to get V free.

And, he needed the psychic down. He looked at Icelos considering, could the Pokémon act like a shield and physically attack the psychic? Was it possible? If Icelos could control the new body he had, then it was possible, but evolving wasn't easy on most Pokémon, even if they gained a burst of energy from the evolution, it still took time to adjust to the rush of hormones and new muscles, as well as the now lack of movement that Icelos was going to have to adjust to.

Really though, he just needed a distraction, which was why he needed V free. If he could get close enough to catch the Pokémon, hopefully its hold would wear off. He looked V in the eyes, but the Pokémon was focused on his teammates now that his trainer was safe. Assuming the Pokémon sent another wave of energy at him, he could either hold onto V, or Icelos, but he also wanted to be near the battle so that he could direct his team. He knew V was fine, even if he was irritated beyond belief, but the others might not be if he kept his distance.

"What do you say, Icelos, should we join the insanity?" He asked, keeping his voice light, even though he wasn't feeling anything even close to it. Icelos hissed, which he took as an agreement, and gave V one last look, before moving to help his team in whatever way he could.

It took a few seconds, once he was close enough, to understand exactly what his eyes were seeing. Silvanus, Oceanius, Barastyr, Anubis, Megara, and Vesper's Charizard were all fighting one Pokémon. It was small, fox like in the face, with pointed ears, and a pointed snout. Its shoulders and upper arms looked to be covered in some sort of darker brown armor, especially compared to the lighter tan of the rest of its body. Its long tail waved back and forth in destress as its clawed hands held its head tightly.

Somehow, almost his entire team was having trouble taking down a single Abra.

He didn't know if he should fall over laughing, or if he should be absolutely terrified of all that power in one tiny package. One thing was for sure, when it evolved, he would not want to go against it. He had no doubt that one day it would be as feared as Sabrina's own Alakazam.

That in mind, he started to piece together what was actually happening. The Pokémon couldn't control its power. Why, he had no idea, but it was clearly trying to suppress the psychic energy that flowed off of it.

Part of him recognized it, though he didn't want to, as the one who had been with the Shinx not that long ago. He wondered if grief, instead of anything else, had caused this.

His team fought, along side Vesper's Charizard, but it wouldn't help. It wouldn't be enough. The fighting, he was sure, was doing nothing but making it worse. He held his hands out, trying to keep his face gentle and calm as he approached. He was no threat, he couldn't be, not to something that clearly needed help as much as this little one did.

He was fairly certain that he could hear it screeching in his brain, getting louder and more panicked with every step he took. He stopped right about where Anubis was, not stupid enough to think that his oldest friend would let him get any closer to a threat and knelt down.

His team stopped, sending him questioning looks, but not doing anything to get in his way. They knew that their boy had a plan, and would trust him to know what he was doing, at least for now, since their attacks were doing very little. He got a grumbling growl from Anubis, and a matching one from Barastyr, which was there way of saying 'I hope you know what you're doing.'

And he did. Maybe. Sorta. Possibly.

"Hey there." He said softly, making his voice like a whisper in the wind. He knew that psychics were prone to having horrible headaches and if the Abra had one, while attempting to reign himself in, he would do his best to not make it any worse. "Its been a long day for me. I'm guessing yours hasn't been any better."

Ash wished it wasn't him doing this, wished that even Vesper could take over, but unfortunately, he was a bit… stuck. Which meant that Ash was the one who would have to deal with this, or he would end up like the rest of them, unable to move until someone could come and calm down the Pokémon.

The Abra winced, gripping its head tighter, practically digging its claws into its skull.

Ash nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I know that you don't have control right now, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to hurt anyone. That's why they're just immobile, not dead. I'm guessing you came up here to have somewhere to relax and try and regain your control, and the trainers just kept coming."

From what he could tell, the people were trapped before they could do anything, or send out any Pokémon. Abra probably caught them unaware and just wanted some peace and quiet. The thought of _why_ the rest of the trainers were up here made him pause, but he shrugged off the question. He could ask later.

Right now, Abra needed a break, and he had an idea. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to think about, but it was the only way he could possibly get out of this mess. "I'm guessing all of these people, their thoughts, and mine, aren't helping. You are clearly a powerful Pokémon, but you also probably aren't used to this amount of noise."

Abra glowed a bit brighter, making Anubis reach for him, but he shrugged off the hand of his powerful friend, and simply got a little closer to the Pokémon. If he was right, Abra would pick up on his thoughts, possibly louder than the rest of his teams, or any of the other people's, because he was the closest. Of course, it was possible that Barastyr's dark energy that had flowed through him earlier had made it harder for the Pokémon to get a read on him.

He could feel it though, feel the Pokémon looking through his head for some sort of answer, something that could possibly help. When the Abra came across his plan, a voice, young, male, and frightened, echoed in his head.

~Yes~ the Pokémon begged, ~Please?~

"We'll try then." Ash stood and carefully walked over to the Pokémon until he was less than a foot away. He took a calm, steady breath, before reaching for something on his belt. His hand closed around an empty Pokéball, one he hadn't planned on using for a long time. Hopefully, this would work.

He reached out and gently tapped the Pokémon on the nose, letting it get sucked into the sphere, before something, in his mind, shattered loudly, like the sound of someone throwing a glass plate against a steel warehouse.

His vision blurred as the Pokéball shook once, before going black as he heard a small click.

* * *

So, I admit, I hate cliffhangers. I can't stand them usually. They do nothing but annoy me. Still, if I didn't cut it here, I'd be working on this for a while longer, and I really don't want to. I just want a quiet evening, to finish the things I need to finish, and I'll deal with everything else later.

Be warned though, things aren't quite as they seem.

See ya'll in the next chapter!


	17. Chapter 17

Well, here we are, the next chapter. Is it just me, or is this story getting past the ridiculous word count now? That said, I do have a question for you guys. Would anyone be interested in the other version of this story? The true dark one that I originally wanted to tell? It would be rated higher than this one for violence, and all that jazz, but its also a lot more upfront about certain issues that I keep getting questions about. It is also, to my horror, a lot longer than this one, and several names/ Pokémon/ themes are different in it. I'm considering a few choices, like replacing this story with that one, or simply having the alternate version in a separate story, but I'm interested to hear what you guys think. I kind of think of them as the same, yet alternate stories. For example, in the other version, Ash fights Brock first, in this one he doesn't. In the other one, he is a dark/ dragon trainer from the beginning, though he doesn't really bring it up unless someone specifically asks, whereas here, its something he's always thought about, but rarely acknowledges. Personally, I prefer telling the story of the other one, because its closer to the story I wanted to tell when I started this, but either way, I'm not leaving this version to die. It's still going to be updated once a month, and its still going to continue on the path where its headed, so no worried to my younger readers.

Alright, I'm sure we're both done with these notes for the moment, so moving on!

On Hand:

Deino- Barastyr

Krokorok- Anubis

Vibrava- Viridios

Bagon- Megara

Gabite- Silvanus

Pupitar- Icelos

Seadra- Oceanius

(Abra)

With Professor Oak:

Froakie- Triton

Litten- Erebus

Cleffa- Pandora

Axew- Hades

Dratini- Nephthys

Other:

Fearow (With Bill)

* * *

Waking up was usually a pleasant experience. Usually, he had his team around him, with the smallest two napping either in his sleeping bag or on it. Usually, he woke up either slowly, taking his time to enjoy the soft morning light, or he snapped to awareness, mostly because Silvanus had a nightmare.

This wasn't either of them.

His head ached. It felt like a thousand Beedrill were stabbing him in the skull with their large stingers. He didn't feel the usual warmth next to him that meant Barastyr was sleeping, or the warm weight on the other side that meant Icelos had fallen asleep next to him.

It took longer than he wanted to admit for him to finally peel his eyes open. After a few seconds, his vision focused, but he wasn't sure that he was as awake as he thought he was. The room he had been placed in was very… purple. The walls were a darker color than the bed, but they had nothing on the darker purple curtains that surrounded the bed. They were so dark, he almost thought it was black instead. There were several torches around the room, lighting it enough for him to see, but not enough for it to hurt his eyes.

His mind raced, trying to put the pieces together again. What had happened when he had fallen asleep? Had he fallen asleep? Why was he here? Where was here? Where was his team?

Hands moved to his belt in panic, horrified that none of his Pokéballs were in their places. He shot out of the bed, fumbling with the sheets and trying not to fall flat on his face. If he didn't succeed, well, no one was there to judge him. As soon as he was up, he yanked the door open and started his search.

He knew his team couldn't be far, none of them ever were. He wondered if Bara or Anu had any idea where he was, or if they were simply blissfully unaware of what was going on. He wasn't sure where to start his search, but he figured wherever the corridor led was as good of a start as any. It was so strange not having any of them by his side, and he couldn't help but feel completely defenseless without them.

For a moment, he wished he had Pandora on his team before he woke up here. While it was impossible for most Pokémon to form a psychic link with their trainer, unless that was their typing, fairy types were an exception. If they had a close enough bond with their trainer, both the fairy type and the trainer they belonged to would be able to follow the connection wherever it led.

He mentally shook himself. No, he needed to find Barastyr. Nothing else would get in the way of that. His steps were quick and slightly unsteady, if only because his head felt like it wanted to explode. The corridor ended with a door, an intimidating, dark, metal one covered in some sort of ruins. Ash didn't even notice, single-mindedly focusing on getting out of here.

The door opened slowly, creaking loud enough to make him wince. There were people in the room, but he didn't even look at them, focusing on where Bara was growling at some stranger that was attempting to pick him up.

"Barastyr." Ash breathed out, relief flooding him. His starter jumped up and sprinted over to him, accidently knocking him over as he rubbed his dark head on his human's cheek. The Deino had been worried, extremely worried, about his boy. In the darkest parts of his mind, Barastyr wouldn't deny the dark satisfaction that told him his boy was worried about him before the others.

Once he was sure his starter was alright, Ash's eyes scanned the room, relaxing slightly as he recognized each member of his team. Anubis had gotten into a glaring match with another boy, one that was probably fifteen or so. Silvanus was already heading towards his trainer, clearly annoyed with the rest of the room. Oceanius just floated in place, ignoring the people around them, but still taking the time to glance over at his trainer in concern. Megara just hmphed at any attempt at getting her attention. And Icelos…

That's right, Ash reminded himself, Icelos had evolved to stop him from falling off of the roof. He made an impressive Pupitar, shell gleaming a tarnished silver color, and eyes more intimidating than they had been as a Larvitar. He had a feeling that Icelos probably wouldn't spend very long in this form if he had a say in it, if only because his rock type was too impatient to let himself be restrained by a form like this for very long. Still, Icelos was impressive. His glowing red eyes were locked onto his boy, even as his cocoon like body was still. The trainer had no doubt that Icelos wouldn't be taking his eyes off the boy any time soon.

As for his Vibrava, the Pokémon had to be buzzing around somewhere. Poor V must have been extremely pissed after being held down for so…

Wait.

He scanned the room again, this time focusing his gaze towards the rafters, but he couldn't spot the yellow and green Pokémon anywhere. "Where's Viridios?" He asked carefully, shifting Bara so that he could get up. His arms felt like wet noodles and his head still ached, but he couldn't fully relax without the most psychotic member of his team.

Bara growled lowly, head turning towards another teenager, probably around nineteen or so. She had long dark green hair, pale skin, and glowing pink eyes that surged with power. It didn't take him long to recognize her as Sabrina, one of the most powerful gym leaders in Kanto.

He guessed he was in Saffron City's gym. That would explain the handful of trainers that had been trying to get his team to cooperate. There were two other boys that couldn't be a gym trainer, Wally, who was leaning against the wall, completely silent as he watched, and a boy with white hair that bled red towards the ends, Vesper, who glared at everyone with his Charizard by his side.

"Good evening, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." A voice echoed in his head. His eyes darted to Sabrina's, unable to not see the amusement in hers.

A high-pitched whine sounded in his skull. It made the pounding of his brain amplify to the point that he almost fell over. His eyes burned, stomach turning at the sound. Golden eyes snapped closed as he fought with his body, and mind, to regain his control. Whatever was going on, he needed to deal with it. He needed to find V, then he could go collapse in a dark room. A dark, silent room, hopefully. Bara growled soothingly, but it took him a few seconds before he could open his eyes again.

He wasn't sure where the noise had come from, it wasn't Wally's Gallade who was standing next to his trainer, nor Sabrina's Alakazam that remained faithfully by her side. It couldn't be any of the gym trainers Pokémon either, most of them were either Hypno or Kadabra, which shouldn't have caused the noise. So where, he thought to himself, had the noise come from?

Sabrina's eyes darted up, inclining her head slightly in a silent apology. Ash own golden eyes followed the path of the gym leaders, stopping at the same support beams. It took a few seconds to take in the fox like figure who was carefully rubbing its head with a single clawed hand.

"I sense you are confused. I will explain what I can, but first, you must call for your Vibrava. It has been terrorizing my city for the last three hours." Sabrina told him calmly, this time speaking out loud.

Ash blinked but focused on getting the last member of his traveling team by his side. Right, V. He needed to make sure that V was safe. While he doubted his Vibrava had been in any real danger, he was fairly certain that they both needed to reassure themselves that the other was alright. He had seen Viridios trapped, stuck, and unable to do anything but watch helplessly as his trainer was almost pushed off a roof of a thirty plus story building.

She gestured at a door he hadn't noticed before and stayed silent as he walked across the room to get to it. He opened it, taking a deep, steading breath before letting out a short, sharp whistle. Leaning against the frame, he watched the skies, waiting somewhat patiently for Viridios to heed his call.

He hadn't even considered that the Vibrava wouldn't. How could he? V was extremely insane, sure, but he was loyal to his trainer now that Ash had proven himself. Most of his team was like that now. They hadn't been fond of the boy when he had first gotten them as a part of his team, but Ash had proven himself to most of them. Only Nephthys, who was just complicated in her own way, Erebus, who was too new, and Megara, his queen of stubbornness, wouldn't do anything for their trainer.

The rest of them had proof that he was going to help make them strong.

Less than five minutes later, V circled into view, easily maneuvering past Ash, who had to duck, in order to get into the gym. The trainer wasn't even slightly surprised that Viridios had blood on his face, probably from terrorizing a Caterpie or a Rattata. Even knowing he had probably killed it wasn't a surprise. That was just V, and what he loved to do, hunt.

When Viridios landed, knowing that his trainer would want to check him over, he let out a sharp hiss towards the others. Ash resisted the urge to roll his eyes as V tried to seem scary. Poor V just wanted to be terrifying. He would be, eventually, but for now, it just seemed ridiculous.

Once he was sure that his team was safe, whole, and alright, he turned back to Sabrina for answers.

"Your team has seen death." She said blandly, staring into his eyes.

Ash just shrugged. Of course they had. All of them, besides Triton and Erebus, had been there during the Mount Moon Massacre. Viridios, Pandora, Megara, Hades, and Icelos had been with another trainer who had been killed. Anubis, Oceanius, Silvanus, and Bara had been by his side when he had woken up in the cage. If he blinked too long, he could still see the pile of bodies just discarded like trash. All of his Pokémon had nightmares about it, even though Sil seemed to have more about his time before he met Ash. Triton seemed to be the most innocent out of all his Pokémon, next to Erebus and Pandora of course.

He knew that his team was broken in a way that no one could fix, but they were getting better slowly. "What happened?" He questioned, ignoring the way that the other trainers were staring at him. He wouldn't deny her statement, but he wouldn't indulge her random questions either.

"Abra." Vesper answered darkly, gesturing towards the creature hiding in the rafters. "A Pokémon like that shouldn't be in the hands of a new trainer." His Charizard huffed a breath of smoke in agreement.

Ash's eyes glazed over as he remembered the little details that had been just out of his reach since he had woken up. An Abra? It had been in agony, unable to control itself. He had tried to help, done something stupid. Very stupid, if the way Anubis was looking at him had anything to say about it. He remembered shrugging off the clawed hand of his oldest friend, kneeling down, and talking to Abra. Before…

Before what?

He was pretty sure he had passed out, though if it was because he hit his head on Icelos' hard shell, or if it had to do with Abra losing control, though something in his brain told him that should be impossible.

"Maybe, but you weren't the one it bonded with, Cormac." Wally spewed from the corner, before slapping a hand over his mouth. Ash turned towards the other trainer, just in time to see Arthur rolling his eyes at his trainers' big mouth.

Right, Wally hadn't come with him. Instead, he had been practically dismissed by the other boy, and headed to the Pokémon center to switch out Triton for Megara. He mentally winced as he remembered the tone he used while speaking to Professor Oak. He owed the man an apology, he guessed. Wally had been otherwise occupied, leaving him to find their Pokémon.

That was when the green haired boy's words clicked in his mind. "What do you mean it bonded? With whom?"

The room went silent, making even his team look away from him awkwardly. He had a suspicion that he knew what was going on. He really, really, really wanted to be wrong though.

Sabrina's eyes glowed for a moment as she carefully considered her words. "To you, Ash Ketchum."

His mind went blank for a moment. "What?"

It made sense; he knew. It was possible, he couldn't deny that. He could feel a difference in his mind, he hadn't been entirely sure what it was, but he had known something was off from the moment he woke up in the guest room.

"Abra has bonded his life energy with yours, accidentally, whilst, bonding your soul with his as well. All psychic types process the energy around them differently to the rest of the world. You have heard of the Four Realities Theory, correct?"

He had, it had come up time and time again during his secret studies of dark type Pokémon. The Four Realities Theory was the idea that there were four separate realities at all times, intertwining together in the reality that the world knew. Supposedly, they worked like a rope of sorts, each reality twined around the other, but still staying separate enough that they could be detached from each other.

According to most professors who had studied the phenomenon, these separate realities at one time were no where near the reality that he lived in. The first, and most well known reality was known as either the Afterworld or the Distortion World. This was the place that souls lived, as well as the place where ghost type Pokémon originated from. The next one was the Mirror World, where psychic type Pokémon came from. It was known as the one that was the most closely related to their own. Thirdly, was their own reality, the one that everyone knew and lived in. Finally, as if an after thought to most people, there was what was known simply as the Abyss, where dark types had their original home.

There was more information about the Mirror World and the Afterworld than there was about the Abyss. According to most of the research he had done, that was less because of favoritism, and more because the Abyss was brutal. Nothing that ever went into the Abyss came back out.

Some people liked to think that the only people who could actually survive in the Abyss were dark type trainers who had dedicated their lives to the typing while being washed in the energy of it often enough that their aura shifted to favor the darkness.

It was said that Sabrina had spent a year in the Mirror World, enhancing her gifts to an otherworldly level, while Agatha spent a season every year, Winter, in the Afterworld to renew her bonds with her ghosts. It was terrifying to think about the amount of power those two must have in order to accomplish such things.

"The Afterworld, Mirror World, Mundane World, and the Abyss." He whispered to himself. If anyone found out about his interest in the Abyss…

To be fair, it was a strange, unique realm that had too little information for him to actually know what kind of terrors lay waiting. It was less strange to think about than some other well accepted theories, such as the fact that fairy type Pokémon came from space, and it was likely that dragon type Pokémon did as well. Personally, he wasn't sure he believed it or not. If legend was to be believed, all four realms had one Pokémon that ruled them. The mirror world was said to be led by Mew, the Afterworld had Giratina, while the Abyss was under the iron fist of Darkrai.

It wasn't something he thought about often, if ever, because there was no proof that the legends were real. He couldn't believe things like that were possible without seeing them for himself.

"Indeed. Occasionally, there is a Pokémon born here that is more of one reality than another. If it happens to be a psychic type, and its connection is stronger to the Mirror World, then its power is more intense, while its control is usually lacking. If it is more of this world than the other, then it may have less raw energy, but it does have the finesse to control what it does have better than others of its species."

Ash frowned at the words but tried to understand what the leader was saying without words. "Abra has a stronger connection to the Mirror World." His words were not a question, but a fact, earning him a slight nod of Sabrina's head.

"Abra is a child of the Mirror World." She agreed. "He is also lacking when it comes to his control. You must understand, once a psychic Pokémon decided to bond with a human, they are never able to part. They become one, such as your friend and his Gallade, or myself and Alakazam. They become a part of us, and we become a part of them. These bonds usually form over a period of weeks, months, or years, depending on the power of the Pokémon, as well as the adaptability of the human. Sometimes, though, things can go wrong."

His head tilted to the side slightly, trying to remember the moment before he passed out. "Something shattered."

"There is usually a barrier in place, in all human minds, that keep them from becoming a part of one of the other realities permanently. From what I can feel, as well as the testimony of everyone who was on the rooftop with you, before you went to Abra, you attempted to disrupt the energy flow that Abra put out around someone you are familiar, but not friendly with. You willingly allowed dark energy into your body, and managed to have enough control over it that you didn't seriously injure Vesper Cormac. When you then decided to catch Abra, you had not yet gotten rid of the last of the dark energy, which was when Abra sent its last wave out, while being captured, the two energies fought in your mind. The barrier that keeps you restricted to this world shattered under the strain of two other realities energies."

Dread grew in his stomach as his mind whirled through what that could mean for him. Was he now not connected to this world at all? Did it mean that his lifespan had been affected? Was there something in his mind that tilted the favor of one of the other realities over the others?

She locked eyes with him, frowning heavily. "Abra's lifespan is linked to yours. His soul is intertwined with your own to the point that trying to make you two souls again would kill both of you. If I am correct, its possible for you to visit the Mirror world now, though you will need Abra to guide you. It could," Sabrina paused for a moment, seemingly uncomfortable, before forcing her way though the thought. "It could be possible that you will feel the call of the Abyss more so than the call of the Mirror, since you have spent so much time around the dark energies. I have no idea if you will be able to visit the Afterworld as well, since I know so little about it. I must warn you not to give into the call of the Abyss. Nothing that goes to that reality ever returns to our own."

"So you're saying that Abra and I are stuck together for the rest of eternity, I might be able to visit at least one other reality, and if I get dragged into the Abyss, I'm probably going to end up dead, or worse." He deadpanned. "Great. Are there any other changes I need to look out for that might kill me, or is it just the one?"

Instead of answering, Sabrina simply waved forward one of her Gym Trainers, a girl with a mirror the size of her hand. She had long, silvery hair that was twined together in a delicate braid down her back, and eyes that looked like liquid silver.

She bowed to her mistress first, then slightly higher to him, before holding out the mirror.

He peered into it, curious to see what they were so silent about. At first, he wondered if this was how Sabrina got into the Mirror World, but when his eyes met the mirror, they widened.

His deep, golden eyes had changed. They were still gold, still intense, but there was some strange specks of black that seemed to litter them. He stared in a mix of horror and confusion, before recognizing what must have happened. The energy he had gotten from Barastyr must still be in his system. He wondered if this was because of both the psychic energies and the dark ones, but no, it had to be from when he willingly allowed, and controlled, the small amount of dark energy.

He shifted Bara to one side and pinched the bridge of his nose. Great. Just great.

At least he survived.

He swallowed roughly. "Okay then." If the only price he had to pay was the corruption of his eyes, then he would pay it gladly. It could have been so much worse.

His eyes moved towards Vesper. The white-haired boy looked alright, so did his Charizard. Neither were hurt in any place that he could see. Though, he couldn't figure out why exactly Vesper had stayed and waited for him to wake up.

It was completely against the other boy's personality to stay and wait around for anyone, let alone Ash. Vesper hated pretty much everyone and everything. He didn't have a soft spot for any of the others, like Ash did for Gary or Blake did for Lillian- Rose. He had been a loner practically his entire life. Not because no one wanted to befriend the boy, but simply because he saw people as a weakness, one that he didn't need. He wasn't going to be slowed down by anyone. He had a goal, after all.

Which meant there was a reason that Vesper was still here. There was a reason that he had waited, and it probably had nothing to do with Abra.

Vesper uncrossed him arms with a silent sigh and gestured for Charizard to go over to Ash, so that they could get this over with. The great beast lumbered alone across the gym floor and shoved a clawed hand forwards, almost impaling the dark haired boy.

To Ash's surprise, his belt, with all of his Pokéballs, was in the Charizard's hand. Including, he noticed with a mental sigh, Abra's.

"Figured you wouldn't want anyone to get… sticky fingers." Vesper said, keeping his onyx eyes on the other. Ash nodded in silent thanks, which Vesper returned. "I don't plan on there being a third time, looser. I'll be strong enough next time not to need help from you, or anyone else."

Ash's lips quirked a bit. Figures that Vesper wouldn't say thank you like a normal person. "Are you staying in town tonight?"

The white and red haired boy shrugged. "Probably. I've still got to beat that stupid fighting type moron. Why? Are you looking to lose?"

Ash tisked at the other boy. "When have I ever set myself up to lose? Who was it that constantly lost in school again?"

Out of the class of forty potential trainers, they were the best. But even they had their hierarchy and used different styles to force their way past the rest of the crowd. Lillian believed battles were a thing of beauty, she fought each one with elegance and poise. Vesper was the one who believed in blunt force and being powerful enough to sweep though the simulations without strain. Blake had a strategy that depended almost completely on using status conditions of all types to chip away at anyone in his way. Gary's specialty was type match-ups mixed with super effective hits. Ash used something else entirely. His strategy usually consisted of surprise. It was one of the reasons he made sure that his team had a few created moves in their arsenal.

Ash and Gary usually interchanged who was the strongest out of them. Sometimes, Gary won, sometimes he was considered the second best in the class. Vesper came in third, always third. The harsh boy had no trouble sweeping though both Blake and Lillian- Rose, but he very rarely won against either Ash or Gary. Lillian came in fourth, even though none of the people who knew the pair thought Blake was ever serious against her. It was well known that he would throw the match in her favor, which got incredibly frustrating for the rest of them.

Simulations and borrowed Pokémon aside, four out of the five had found their place, but Ash hadn't participated yet. Not seriously anyways. It had been long enough now that he was confident in his team and their abilities, whereas in the fight with Lillian, he had still been unsure.

Which, for them, meant that it was long past time to face each other across the battlefield once again.

"When do you want to lose?"

"I want to _win_ against your stupid self tomorrow night, around sunset." Ash shot back, trying to ignore how this of all things felt familiar, safe, and normal. For them at least. "Four on four or would you rather go all out?"

Vesper gave him a deadpanned look, before heading towards the door. Seven on Seven it was then. Barastyr, Anubis, Silvanus, Oceanius, Viridios, Hades, and probably Icelos were going to get a good work out tomorrow. Good, it was going to be fun to take him down a peg or two again.

Wally let out a frustrated sigh. "How in Arceus' name do you put up with that jerk?"

"Beating him often works pretty well." Ash told him, keeping his expression as bland as he could make it. "If that doesn't work, then direct him at something else, and that usually keeps him occupied long enough to get away."

It had always been weird for people, especially outsiders, to understand the way that all five of the Pallet Town trainers interacted. It wasn't their fault, but Ash had grown up with the others. Even if he tried to tell Wally, and Sabrina since she was still here, that Vesper insulting him had been his way of saying thanks, there was a very small chance that they would understand.

Still, secretly, he admitted that it was easier to smile and snark with Vesper than it was the others. If only because the two boys had the same way of dealing with isolation, and everything else that they had grown up with. He wouldn't call them friends, it was more like… they had a mutual understanding of how things were.

Instead of actually saying anything, he just shrugged again.

"One final thing, Ash Ketchum, needs to be brought to your attention." He turned his head so that he could see Sabrina clearly instead of simply out of the corner of his eye. "I request that you leave Abra here until you return to Saffron the third time. While you are a strong trainer, strength is not what Abra needs. Instead, my Alakazam and I shall work with him until his control is meticulously increased to the point that he shall not accidently harm you or any others around you."

Ash frowned at her. "What about the bond? Wouldn't the distance hurt both of us?"

Carefully she inclined her head no. "As long as you spend twenty- four hours together every two or so weeks, the bond will adjust. The type of power that Abra has at its disposal would make it so that he has no trouble finding you and remaining with you for that period. In addition, the distance might help both of you adjust to the bond slightly quicker."

"I don't know." Ash muttered softly. He had no idea what to do, but in the end, he supposed, it wasn't up to him. His eyes flickered to Abra, who appeared to be dozing off in the rafters. "I'll talk to Abra about it tonight. We'll let you know in the morning. For now, though, its bedtime for someone, and I have a call to make, and a few other things to do."

He was exhausted just thinking about the never-ending list of things he had to take care of before he could finally go to sleep. Call the Professor and apologize, find out how traumatized both Icelos and Viridios were after their last incident, have a talk with Megara about what her problem was, check on Nephthys, reassure the rest of them that he was perfectly fine, find out what Abra wanted, maybe talk to Bill and find out how Fearow was doing, since it had been a while. Ugh, his head ached just thinking about it.

A loud beep sounded from his pocket and he immediately reached for his Pokénav. Flicking it open, he glanced at the email, which funny enough, had been from the professor. His eyes lit up in excitement and he couldn't stop a short burst of laughter from escaping.

His team looked at him strangely, but his eyes were glued on the screen. After about a minute he finally looked away. "Neph evolved." He told them silently. "Professor Oak is checking her out right now, but it seems like it was an easier evolution than we were expecting. She's grouchy, apparently, because her scars are still visible."

While he had been expecting this for a while, ever since Cerulean City, he was surprised by how she had coped. He had been worried for her, because of the scarring, and how stiff and sore she got occasionally. The Professor had warned him that when she evolved, no matter how majestic she seemed, she would still feel the aches. They had gotten incredibly lucky that she had healed as well as she had, even if her attitude could still be a problem sometimes. He turned his Pokénav so that Anubis could see and watched as the croc practically had to do a double take at the picture the professor had sent along with the message.

Her coloring had always been strange, she had always been a light, lavender color, but now, it had darkened to a color more similar to royalty, a deep, vibrant, cool toned royal purple. The scars that crisscrossed her body from the Gyarados attack had faded, leaving her with bright, almost white scarring that stood out starkly against her now darker color. Her underbelly, horn, and the two wing shaped protrusions were all the same color, a deep ruby red instead of white.

She looked both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

As much as he wanted to be there for the evolution, he knew that it was in her best interests to stay at the ranch. Once he got the all clear, though, he would make sure that she was with him until they reached Celadon. He couldn't believe that the long, elegant creature, who might have been a little smaller than the average Dragonair, was the same Nephthys that he had rescued.

Barastyr grumbled at him, slightly louder, and jerked his head towards the door.

"Agreed. V, we're headed to the Pokémon center, do you want to meet us there or stay with me?" V watched him for a moment, before buzzing into the air and landing on Ash's back. His two front legs wrapped around Ash's neck, while his lower legs rested on his trainers back. His wings vibrated behind them, and his head seemed to rest on Ash's.

The boy simply rolled his eyes, but didn't bother reprimanding V. While he had never carried the Vibrava like this before, the added weight wasn't too bad, and he had no doubt that V wasn't going to be letting him go any time soon.

He returned the rest of his team, nodded to both Sabrina and Wally, before heading out. He was exhausted, more than he had been expecting to be. All he wanted was a good nights sleep, maybe with his favorite girls, then some space to just breath for a few hours. That sounded heavenly.

A snort escaped his lips as he walked past the tall buildings. There was no rest for the wicked, and he had a list to complete before he could finally fall into unconsciousness for a few hours.

"Its weird." He muttered to V as the Pokémon clung to him. "I've never missed any of my team evolving before."

V buzzed questioningly, curious as to why his trainer was focused on that of all things.

Ash shrugged, "I don't get it either. I mean, I know that the fact that you guys are changing is a good thing, its great, but Neph…" He sighed. "I don't know how to not think of her as the same helpless Dratini that looked so out of it laying on the hospital bed. I know she's fine now; I know she's growing, but I can't make myself think of her in any other way."

That was the problem, he supposed. He could use her in battles now, he had been able to for a while, but that didn't mean that he would. He was always more protective over her, and he had never bothered trying to fight down that instinct.

He wondered, if only to himself, if that was why Megara seemed to hate him so much, because she would have realized that he had a capable fighter in Nephthys, yet he rarely, if ever, used her. He needed to have a talk with her, and soon.

Until then, he thought, turning his head slightly so that he could see V out of the corner of his eye. "You know I'm okay, right?" He asked his sadistic dragonfly. He may not pick up on a lot of things, but he hadn't missed the look in V's eyes when he realized that he couldn't get to his trainer, and that Ash was going to fall off the roof, and there was nothing he could do about it. "If, Arceus forbid, something did happen to me, I've made it very clear that all of my team stays together. Professor Oak volunteered to keep you guys, at the ranch. You aren't going to be split up, and none of you are going to people you don't know. None of the others know, but just in case, I made plans months before I left. I wasn't expecting to have as many of you as I do, but since I do, I did make sure that you guys would be alright."

Ash made sure to keep his eyes forward as he walked. He didn't want to acknowledge the look of disbelief on V's face. If he did, it would answer so many questions that he didn't want the answers to. Because if V wasn't worried about him dying because he didn't want to be given to someone else, then why had V adapted to him so well in the first place? Was he… glad that his original trainer was dead?

As much as he hated to think about it, Viridios had probably had a similar upbringing to Silvanus. It was one of the reasons he rarely called V by his full name. The last thing he wanted to do was to remind V of something that he would rather forget. He had considered asking V if he wanted to change his nickname, but V had never really had a problem with being called simply 'V' instead.

He kind of understood why Viridios' original trainer named him that, even if it simply meant 'Green'. After all, now, V had stunning emerald eyes, and an almost as breathtaking green pattern on his wings. When he evolved into a Flygon, he would be both majestic, and green. Very green.

Eventually, he supposed, he would ask. If V did want to go by something else, then Ash had no problem letting him choose something, even if it was ridiculous. If he didn't want to, then that was fine too. After all, Viridios did suite him, it was majestic, and somewhat harsh. He hid a smile at the thought of his sadistic V going by something like 'Sunny' or Cloudy'. Even if it would never happen, it was still more than amusing to think about.

When they reached the Pokémon Center, Ash politely asked for a room for two nights, and left Icelos at the front counter to be looked over after his evolution, before heading to the Video Phones to talk to the Professor. He was a bit… sheepish when the older man answered the phone, but Ash, being Ash, was able to shrug it off and get a few updates on his missing team members.

After a few minutes, Professor Oak paused. "You are aware that the other four have sped past you, correct?"

Ash hid a sigh. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"Gary has twenty-eight Pokémon now, and is working on getting his sixth badge, Vesper has sixteen, and he is currently on his fifth badge, Lillian is on her fourth, while Blake just received his fourth badge. Lillian has the widest range in her team, she has thirty- eight. Blake has the least; he has eleven on his. As far as I am aware, both Vesper and Gary are going to be headed back here soon, to train up for their final three gym badges. I know that Lillian is planning on returning with Blake in the next few weeks as well. What I do not know, is when you are coming to Pallet Town."

He blew out a slow breath. "I'm leaving Saffron the day after tomorrow, and Celadon is less than a week away from here. Assuming I can beat Erika, I'll probably have Abra teleport me back here as soon as I'm done. Then, I'm headed to Vermillion. I should have both my Rainbow and Thunder badges in a month, maybe a little longer. As soon as I'm done with those two, I'll swing by Bill's house, if he's done with Fearow, then, well, I don't really know." V tightened his grip on his neck, but Ash didn't acknowledge it. He knew full well what V was irritated about, being near that stupid mountain.

If he had his way, one of his Pokémon would fly him over Mt. Moon, he did have three dragons that would be able to fly soon, or maybe Abra would teleport him to Pewter. He didn't exactly want to go through the mountain again, but he also wasn't going to be held back by anything again. He was getting stronger, and by the time he needed to cross Mount Moon, his team would be even stronger.

The professor gave him a sad but understanding look. It wasn't like Professor Oak didn't know that unlike the others, he didn't have anything waiting for him at home. Gary had his grandfather, and maybe his sister if she was nearby. Lillian-Rose had her older twin bothers, ehm, brothers, and her parents. Blake had his little sister and his big brother, as well as his dad. Even Vesper, who loathed his mother, was perfectly fine with his dad. Ash never had that.

"Delia loves you; you know. She misses you and asks me every week if I've heard from you or not." Professor Oak told him quietly.

Ash couldn't stop himself from scoffing. "Mimey might miss me, but I doubt mom realizes I'm gone. If I know her at all, you are the one who brings me up, never her."

He knew he was right. His mother… She never really got along with him, and they might never get along. But that was alright, he just wished he understood what she saw when she looked at him.

The professor sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but your mother does-"

"Can you please drop it, Professor?" To be fair, he didn't doubt that she loved him. Delia was a lot of things, but she did love her son. The problem was, she also resented him. Oh, he had no idea why she did, but he had more than one guess.

It could have been that she was so young when she had him, and Ash was the reason she retired. Several of her Pokémon were extremely not happy with his arrival because he had signaled the end of her glory days. For all that she loved her son, she loved competing more. Delia was a trainer at heart, and in his eyes, wasn't meant to settle down into a normal life so early.

It could have had something to do with the fact that he had been a weird child, a loner who liked to read. He had spent most of his time away from his mother, and curled up in his dad's office with a book. He was difficult, if only because his interests, when he spoke of them, were so out of the realm of normal that it probably effected not only Delia's social life, but her business as well.

In Ash's mind, hidden away from the rest of the world, he knew exactly why she hadn't been able to stand him. He remembered the day better than he ever wanted to, even after all this time had passed. He had been the one who found his father's body after he had cut off his connection with the world of the living. It didn't help that the police had told Delia that his dad had only been dead perhaps half an hour before Ash had found it.

She blamed him, not undeserved, because if he had been home on time, instead of staying back half an hour to ask questions and check out a book from the school's library, he might have been able to stop his dad. If he had come home at the same time he usually did, Delia wouldn't be a widow, and Ash wouldn't have had to burry his dad.

Logically, he understood that there had been nothing he could have done. He was sure that his mom understood that too, but she was hurting, and grief made people illogical. To be fair, he wasn't sure he would have reacted any differently in her position. Still, he would have done a few things once he heard that his child had tried to wake up their other parent before running off to get help and dragging the closest neighbor over in a panic. He would have at least tried to make sure his child was okay before he broke down, unlike what his mother had done.

As the years passed, he spent less and less time actively thinking about the suicide of his beloved father, but he also made sure not to think about his father at all very often. Only when he couldn't avoid it did he allow the grief and anguish to try and drown him. To this day, sometimes, he could still smell the thick, coppery scent of blood that had made him gag when he opened the door to his dad's office.

He mentally shook the thoughts away. He couldn't deal with the blame in his mother's eyes, so he wouldn't. He didn't have to anymore. If he chose to go back to Pallet Town, then he would deal with it then, but until then, he would stay silent for his mother's sake.

The professor had it wrong, it wasn't that he hated her, they didn't get along, but that didn't mean he hated her. No, he couldn't bare to see the look in her eyes when she was around, so he kept his distance in hopes that one day, she would heal.

Professor Oak gave him a disappointed look, one that Ash had long since learned to shrug off. He hated it, but he wasn't going to let it change anything. Not about this. Before holding up two Pokéballs, in one hand, and a third in the other. Ash picked two of his own team members, Oceanius, Megara, and Silvanus, to swap with the two girls, and Abra's. How the Pokémon was here, yet the Professor had his Pokéball, he didn't know. It was probably a psychic thing. Once he was certain that the Seadra, Bagon, and the Gabite made it safely, he clipped Nephthys' Pokéball, along with Abra's and Pandora's, on his belt, before saying goodbye.

He moved easily towards the front desk, nodding politely when Nurse Joy told him to make sure that Icelos got a good nights sleep, before going to the cafeteria to have some dinner. He ate without really tasting anything. His sadistic friend hovered over him, clearly still worried, if only about his lack of an appetite.

As much as he wanted to pretend that everything was alright, it wasn't. He wasn't. Sooner or later, he'd shove the memories that the Professor had unknowingly dug up back into the depths of his mind. Thankfully, for both him and his team, he was really good at it by now. It would take a bit of time to shove them back where they belonged, but once he was done, he was certain that he would feel a bit les wobbly.

He blinked, turning to V with a slightly confused expression. "I just volunteered us to stay until tomorrow night, didn't I?"

The dragonfly Pokémon seemed amused but nuzzled into his shoulder a bit. He had no doubt that Bara and Anu would kill him for staying in the densely psychic powered city until tomorrow night. No, his dark types would not be pleased with him.

Still, he finally let himself wonder something that he had been careful not to since he had received his starter: Was Barastyr a child of the Abyss like Anubis was? As much as the Deino preferred to use his dark type energy over his dragon energy, Ash seriously doubted it. For Anubis, manipulating dark type energy was easier than breathing. Even before he hatched, Anubis' egg had radiated dark energy more so than the rest of his clutchmates. While physically, he had been smaller, and weaker, power wise, he had no problem taking out anything that got in his way. There had been some tantrums from his oldest friend as a newly hatched Pokémon, but each of them showed one thing: Immense dark energy that wasn't under control.

All the signs pointed to Anubis being a child of the Abyss, but his others, he wasn't sure about. With Icelos, Triton, and Erebus, he wouldn't know for sure until they gained their dark typing, but he did have his suspicions. Triton and Erebus most likely weren't. They had been young enough when he caught them that if they had been, he would have seen signs by now. Icelos was a maybe, but still doubtful. He had more of the dark type personality, but he didn't have the same drive as a child of the Abyss usually did. As for Barastyr…

No, probably not.

It wasn't insulting or anything like that. It didn't mean that Anubis was more valuable than Barastyr was, or that he adored his starter any less because of it. But he did have a control that Anubis lacked, and that alone was a sign that he was a child of the mundane.

Secretly, he was glad. Having Anubis, and all of his possible strengths yet weaknesses was more than enough to deal with. After all, Anubis was a male, which meant he was more aggressive towards outsiders, he had the ability Moxie, which meant his already fragile temper would snap with each victory while his power grew, and he had a larger reservoir of dark energy than the rest of Ash's team, meaning he needed stronger moves in order to be effective, while the rest could get by on weaker ones, but with more finesse and control than Anubis would ever hope of having.

When he finally went after his next dark types, he knew that he would hope that they didn't have the same control problems as Anubis did. Then again, children of the Abyss were rare, so it wasn't impossible that he wouldn't ever have another one on his team, even if he had thirty or more dark types. He preferred it that way, even if he wouldn't complain about the power boost another one would give his team.

Still, that was a while off, and not something he had to care about just yet. For now, he needed to focus on Abra and Megara more than any others.

Once he finished eating, he cleaned up and finally, finally, headed to his room. When he released his team, he felt his shoulders relaxing a bit. While he had to keep up a façade with the rest of the world, he didn't have to do that with his team. They trusted him, and they knew that he wanted the best for each of them.

He carefully cradled his baby Pokémon, happy that Pandora had chosen to come into his arms, while keeping an appreciative eye on Nephthys. She was beautiful, elegant, and dangerous looking, and he made sure to tell her so. While the rest of his team gathered around his first girl, he took his second to Abra's little corner and flat out asked the Pokémon what he wanted to do. Ash wasn't the least bit surprised when Abra wanted to accept Sabrina's offer, in fact, he was happy about it. He needed to work with his main team a little bit more before they reached Celadon, and it would be easier for all of them for Abra to stay here for now. But, he would be back for the small creature soon enough.

That decided, he laid down, calling Neph over to him. It was annoying to think about, but he wanted her in his main team. She didn't need to be babied any longer, hadn't for a long time, and he promised himself that he wasn't going to let his own feelings hold him back. Still, he wasn't sure about putting her in a battle against Vesper's team, not because she couldn't fight, but because he worried her scales might not be fully hardened by then.

After an annoyed look from the Pokémon, he relented. She would be in both his line up for tomorrow, and his line up for Celadon. Most likely, he would use the same team for both fights, seeing as he only really had one really powerful dark type right now, Anubis, Barastyr wasn't quite powerful enough on his own to take down an entire team yet, and the others, Icelos, Triton, and Erebus, were still exceedingly delicate. Technically, Icelos was around the same level as most of his dragons, but the cat like Pokémon and the frog like Pokémon weren't. Those two were closer to Pandora's level for now.

Team decided, he took a shower, got ready for bed, and crawled under the covers to finally get some rest, still attempting not to focus on the weird prickling feeling in the back of his mind. To no one's surprise, Barastyr curled up on one side, while Pandora became a ball of fluff laying on his stomach. The others, Icelos, Anubis, Viridios, Abra, and Nephthys all attempted to go to their respective preferred sleeping spaces. Icelos in a corner that watched the door, Anubis curled up at the floor by his boy's side, Viridios on top of the wardrobe, and Abra floating near the ceiling. The only one that seemed slightly put out was Neph, because her newly found size, at over thirteen feet long meant that she didn't fit in the tank that she preferred to rest in. Instead, she coiled up, to everyone's surprise, in the bathroom, where the shower was.

Once they were settled, sleep came ever so slowly to most of them, and only one was left awake in the dark with his thoughts. As tired as he was, Ash knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until his mind was done sorting through the day, and simply tried to enjoy the relaxing weight of Pandora on his stomach.


	18. Chapter 18

Alright, so quick AN: firstly, its the anniversary of when I first started posting this story on FF! Yeah! An entire year, and I'm still writing on it. I almost can't believe it. Thanks to everyone who has been following this beast, I can't wait to see where we'll be by the second anniversary. Next, I did post/ am posting the first chapter of the OG version after I'm done uploading this one. Its different enough that it could be worth a read even to someone who has gone through this story. Alright, enough blabbing.

On Hand:

Barastyr- Deino

Icelos- Pupitar

Viridios- Vibrava

Pandora- Cleffa

Anubis- Krokorok

Nephthys- Dragonair

Abra

With Professor Oak:

Megara- Bagon

Triton- Frogadier

Hades- Axew

Silvanus- Gabite

Erebus- Torracat

Oceanius- Seadra

Other:

Fearow- With Bill

* * *

Thoughts of his parents filled his mind when he woke up. As little as he wanted to admit it, he wasn't blind. He had noticed some similarities between himself and both of them. How could he not? Pokémon wise, his father had two of the same team members as his mother's preferred team. Now, he had them as well. Both of his parents had at one time, captured both a Cleffa, or one of their later forms, and an Abra. He knew his mother's Pokémon better than his fathers after all these years, but he also knew that all four Pokémon had been trained for very different things.

Delia had trained her Clefable, Star, to be quick, and to master the few moves that she knew. Star only had access to three moves that she learned via TM, but she was able to manipulate them to an extent that most Pokémon couldn't even dream of. His father's Clefable was built more muscular and had always been slightly taller, and he could put more power behind his moves, especially his physical moves, than Star could. He also had a wider range of moves, mastering more than ten TM's past the point of being useable in battle.

Whereas Delia had carefully spent her time making her Alakazam faster, his father had always encouraged his to think for himself. Alakazam were natural strategists and were built more for psychic battles than physical ones, but his mother had defied that and made sure that Ancient was more physically able to protect himself than most Alakazam could, of he was caught, of course.

Overall, his mother believed that speed was the most useful trait to have, whereas his father believed that having diverse protections were the best way to deal with whatever situation he got into. Ash loathed to admit it, but he seemed to be favoring his mother's methods with Pandora. He didn't like it, but his Cleffa just wasn't the type to keep a level head on the battlefield. She got more leniency than any of his other Pokémon when in reality, he should have worked her the hardest since she was the most able to be molded into a superior fighter.

Still, Pandora wasn't a battler. She didn't mind it, of course not. She enjoyed the occasional fight where she could prove that she was superior to another, but she wouldn't ever have the same cravings for battle that some of his others did. He was alright with that, more because she wasn't a Pokémon he had ever even given a thought about putting on his main team.

Her value wasn't in battle, but in company, companionship, and adoration. He wanted her to be great, but he didn't want to force her into situations that would help her get there. Of his Pokémon, only really three of them, maybe four, were passionate about battling. The rest were alright with it, but they didn't crave it the way he did. That hadn't stopped him from using them in battles. That hadn't made him stop and think about rather or not they would be happier occasionally getting that satisfaction or not.

So why had he not pushed Pandora in the same way that he had the others? She was small, delicate, and needed to be protected, right?

He stroked her soft fur and held her closer to his chest as he wondered around Saffron. He'd been wandering for hours with only her and V, who still refused to return to his Pokéball. Barastyr was, for lack of a better word, pouting that Nephthys, weak, vulnerable Nephthys, had evolved before he could. Neph was still recovering from her evolution in hopes of being able to battle later that day. He didn't want to stress her out too early. Icelos was having trouble moving around, and while his evolution hadn't been as difficult as Neph's, it had still happened under extremely stressful events. Anu was too big and too tense to be allowed to stay out. The croc was more than slightly twitchy about being here, and honestly, he didn't want to deal with the aftermath of Anu snapping at some poor fool who managed to gain his ire.

There were things he could have been doing. He could have been switching his team around again, he could have been going over a strategy for beating Vesper, he could have been trying to settle his stomach. But no, instead, he had been thinking about his parents all morning, causing him to be a useless waste of space.

He didn't like thinking about the good times, like the first time he had been allowed to watch his parents battle, or the times he had been able to learn to how to make the breads that his mother often gave to their neighbors. They had been happy once upon a time.

It had been years since then, and when his father died, the good memories had stopped. He hated anything that even suggested that he was similar to his mother.

Which, admittedly, was the main reason he had been ticked to realize that he had two of the same Pokémon species that she did. He wanted to make his own mark on the world, not follow in her shoes. Regretfully, that meant he needed to change tactics with Pandora.

She should have evolved weeks ago, since she had such a low level of evolution compared to most of the others. What were her biggest strengths? What were the biggest weaknesses? He didn't care about making her able to take on practically any opponent, but he did want to make sure that she would be able to stay safe through anything and everything that came their way. She would have to become an enforcer of sorts to keep his dragons under control when they wanted to snap. Pandora was going to have to become a leader of sorts, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

If he was content with the team he had, which he mostly was, then he needed a way to keep them safe, and that way was going to have to be Pandora. He grimaced at the thought, but it made sense. He'd prefer for Pandora to be a backup of sorts, but that might not be possible.

Unless he got his hands on an ice type and a fighting type, or another fairy type, he supposed. Finding an ice type, or another fairy type, would be a pain. It wasn't impossible, he supposed, but he certainly had a preference towards an ice type over another fairy. As for a fighting type, those weren't particularly hard to find.

Still, he didn't like the idea of having a pure fighting type or a pure ice type. Maybe…

Maybe he should find a Pokémon that was both dark and ice, as well as one that was both dragon and fighting. They could play the role of peacekeeper better than Pandora, especially if they became friendly with each other. Sneasel was the only option for an ice type, and the Kommo-o line would have to work as well.

He wasn't fond of the idea, but still, he knew that he would keep it in mind for the future. When he was ready to find his final fighters then he would consider it again. For now, he had more than enough to keep himself busy.

Pandora's training schedule was going to have to change either way, even if he didn't particularly like the idea. Not just her, he realized with a sigh, but all of his team. They were being held back by him. While it was important for dragons to be treated with caution when they were young, it was more important to make sure not to let them underestimate themselves as they grew. If they thought they had lower limits, then that is where they would think their skills were maxed out at. On the other hand, if they became overly confident, then it was possible for them to overexert themselves and get into situations they couldn't get out of.

He wandered around, thinking of his team. Some of them, he acknowledged, were simply not meant to battle. It wasn't that they couldn't, it was that it would never be a passion to them. To be fair, he had known that some Pokémon weren't built for fighting. It was why he wanted to be so picky in the first place. Unfortunately, he had allowed himself to get caught up in the whirlwind that almost all new trainers did. He wanted to be careful about his team, picky even, but most of them hadn't really been his choice.

Which, surprisingly, he was fine with now, but it left him in a very awkward position of having to choose who needed to become passionate, and who just was more of a companion Pokémon. Pandora, admittedly, was the latter. Either she didn't want to evolve past her baby form, or she was content in her current strength and didn't feel the need to fix it. She wasn't the only one, though. Triton, Erebus, and Megara were all the same, though for different reasons. Triton didn't like fighting because it showed off his inadequacies and what he needed to work on, which was insulting to the prideful Pokémon. Erebus just didn't care one way or another just yet, as he was lazy and most content whenever he had a nice, warm place to take a nap. Megara had strength, unlike the other three, but she loathed using it for him. She didn't want to help him in any way, and if she absolutely had to, she would step in, but her word was the only reason she hadn't abandoned him. Megara was the only one of the Pokémon he received in Mt. Moon that hadn't started to care about him one way or another. To her, Ash was just something to ignore and work around.

That was four of his Pokémon that had no interest in helping him get stronger. Add in Fearow, who he would eventually get back, and Abra, who probably was too afraid to let himself be emerged in a battle due to his absolutely horrible control, and that was an entire team's worth of Pokémon he couldn't use in battle.

Of the Pokémon he used regularly, Anubis, Viridios, and Oceanius were the only three that really craved battles. Granted, Silvanus had been leaning towards the more brutal side of battles since he evolved, but he wasn't absolutely obsessed the way that the other three were. He had no doubt that Icelos would join the other four in being the brutal heavy hitters of the team, especially since he seemed to be getting a worse temper since he had been stuck in a practically immobile shell. Even Barastyr, his faithfully distant starter, wasn't really obsessed one way or another. Hades didn't mind the challenge, neither did Nephthys.

He had added fourteen members to his team, and only three of them loved battling. With those odds, he had no doubt that he would have to do something to incite some kind of passion in his team, otherwise, they were all going to be overwhelmed before they could even make it to the Indigo League. He supposed, if worse came to worse, he could manage with what he had, but they wouldn't place very far unless battling became something they actually wanted.

At this point, he realized morosely, he would be better off just mixing the Pokémon that would be willing to fight into a group and pulling from there. Not that having Barastyr, Icelos, Anubis, Viridios, Oceanius, Nephthys, and Hades as a team was really a bad one, it was pretty well balanced actually, but it was a little disappointing to realize that his dreams of being able to have an exclusively dragon team was probably out of his reach, while his dreams of having a purely dark team were most likely not going to happen. At least not yet.

Would it really be so bad to use a mixed team for his first league? It wasn't perfect, and it did make things a little messier, but there was no reason at all to hold himself back. Who was he trying to impress anyways? Why did he care if anyone else didn't like the types he had an affinity towards? He knew his team, and he trusted them to keep him safe. Hadn't they proved themselves yesterday? And in Mount Moon?

He shook his head roughly and grumbled to himself. His team had different interests, different passions, and different roles in his life, but he wanted more of them. At this point, he wasn't sure if he was just a bad trainer, or if he had just become more insecure since he had left Pallet Town.

Where had his confidence gone, he questioned himself. Where was the boy who had known so easily that his team simply wasn't ready for a gym battle because he knew the personalities he was working with?

His eyes widened slightly as he finally recognized the heavy feeling that had been plaguing him all day. He could have hit himself, he thought bitterly as he turned back towards the Pokémon Center, this time his legs walked quickly instead of being dragged.

He was in withdrawal. The dark type energy that Barastyr had given him yesterday had kickstarted his body again and brought a deep emotional unbalance in his very soul that needed to be fixed before his mind could actually work again.

That was the problem with dark energy. It was addicting, dangerous, seductive, and could easily kill someone if they weren't careful with the energy. Dark energy wasn't meant for careless idiots who were trying to break the hold over someone. He knew better, had known better yesterday, but he had let himself make that mistake. He would just how to get used to it now.

Thankfully, he hadn't wandered too far away, and he practically bolted past the front entrance towards the video phones. Within minutes, he had the switched Pandora for Erebus, knowing that the little fire type would get some good out of his stupidity. There really wasn't any way to fix it, per say, it had become part of him, and it would be obvious to anyone who was sensitive to the abyss exactly what he had done.

As soon as the door closed behind him, he moved V away from him, letting the dragonfly Pokémon sit on top of the dresser instead. Once he was free from the hold, he sent out Barastyr, Anubis, Icelos, and Erebus, before sitting on the floor. The five seemed a little confused, but it was Anubis, of course it was, who seemed to notice something wasn't right.

"I'm an idiot." He muttered, more to himself than his team, before looking over at his starter. "Seems like we accidently triggered an addiction, Bara." Normally, it took repeated exposure to dark energy before an addiction could be formed, but in this case, he was pretty sure that channeling it to Vesper, then getting attacked by a powerful psychic, and bonded with said psychic while the energy was still coursing through his veins had done the trick.

He knew the symptoms of a dark energy addiction, including the muddled, morose thoughts, heavy depression, and loss of appetite were just the beginning. With dark energy, either he would learn to control it, or it would overwhelm him until he didn't have much of a personality left. Becoming a shell didn't sound like a good time, so he would have to do something a little bit different. He'd have to embrace the addition until it became intertwined with his soul, like Abra was. If his attachment to the Abyss wasn't already formed, it would be soon.

It wasn't all bad, of course. There were benefits to the energy. The biggest one was the protection it would offer him towards psychics. Lesser psychics wouldn't so much as be able to touch his mind without being caused pain once the addiction had been formed. His dark Pokémon would also get more powerful, because there would be an energy loop between them. They would need his energy to stay healthy just like he would need theirs. They would have a naturally deeper connection because of the energy exchange, and they would be able to handle their evolutions a bit easier since he would seem less like prey with the energy flowing through his veins.

All and all, it was a risk to form, because sometimes it would cause a person's organs to rot away inside their body since it tried to reject the energy, or insanity in those already mentally unstable. But that would only happen if the energy rejected someone, and it certainly hadn't rejected him.

As soon as his words registered in his brain, Anubis knew what to do, just as Barastyr did. The two of them raised their auras, and carefully sent them towards their trainer. While Icelos and Erebus would want to help, they hadn't yet tapped into their dark energy. But, the extra energy in the room would be good for them and hopefully help increase their own once they evolved.

Ash just relaxed as he felt the cool, welcoming embrace of the energy. It seemed to drain away all of his nostalgic pain and his uncertainty. It felt almost possessive of him, as if it wasn't happy that it had to share him with other types, but overall, it was accepting. He spent a few minutes drawing just a little of that energy into his own body, through his nose down his throat, into his lungs and blood from there. It was strangely calming, but disturbingly, it felt as if he was hole for the first time since he had walked in and found his father's body.

Within minutes, it was over, leaving behind only a feeling of abandonment that would fade the more frequently he did this. His eyes closed as he worked on controlling his breathing once again. When he had fully mastered his own body again, he let out a sharp, short, bark of laughter and opened his eyes. It could have been so much worse, he knew. If the energy had rejected him, instead of embraced him, he would be nothing more than a rotting corpse on the floor right now. If he wasn't meant for the Abyss, promised to the Abyss, he would be dead.

He felt a small, warm body lean against his own and glanced down at Bara. Every bit of his soul ached right now, but it was more of a raw feeling than one of pain. He reached down and carded his hand through the long, course black fur on his starters head, scratching softly as he did. The next time he did this, probably tomorrow, it would hurt a little less. Soon, it wouldn't hurt at all, and it would simply leave him with an intoxicating feeling.

His eyes moved to the rest of his team. Anubis seemed a little bitter, but otherwise calm. He seemed to know that his place as a replacement starter wouldn't be needed soon. It had always been a little difficult for him to connect with Barastyr, whether that was because of his own stupidity, or because neither of them was really sure what to make of the other, even after so much time together, he didn't know. He had been using Anu as a crutch of sorts, because if things had been different, Anubis would have been his starter. Of course, if things had been different, then it was entirely possible that he would have never met Barastyr at all. The greatest thing about Anu was his ability to understand the needs of those around him. Even if he ignored them most of the time, he rarely ever ignored Ash's needs, especially the ones that the boy himself didn't understand.

Icelos' eyes were firmly on him, practically glowing in a dire need to help what had become his boy. He hated that he was stuck in this form, even if it would be over sooner thanks to the extra dark energy his body now stored because his boy had been smart enough to realize that he would need it. Yes, the boy was finally starting to understand his place.

Erebus was mostly confused. The cat Pokémon had never sensed something like that before, especially since he was able to tell that the energy was only a drop's worth to the Krokorok. He had known that his bad-tempered teammate was strong, but he hadn't realized exactly how strong he was until just then. The energy that the two leaders released had called to a part of him that he hadn't expected it to. It seemed to soothe him, yet at the same time, it fanned the flames inside his spirit. He wanted to be able to do that. Even if he wasn't as concerned with the boy as his teammates seemed to be, mostly because he didn't really have the energy to care, he did still have a thirst for power than had been squashed by his inherent laziness. If he was around that energy again, it might have been able to bring out the fire type in him before his inner flames could become smothered once again.

Unlike the others, Viridios was more disturbed by the action than anything else. If anyone had bothered to ask, he would have been more than happy to admit that his viciousness was simply a part of him that had been crushed under cruelty for too long. His mind didn't work the same way that the others did, he didn't bother with the same weaknesses that the rest of the team was held by. In fact, he couldn't care less if an outsider was killed, though there was some satisfaction if it was done by himself. The only creatures in this world he bothered with were those who belonged to him, which included the boy, the croc, and the crazed sea horse, no matter how much they bickered. The rest of the team, he supposed, belonged to him as well, but that was more because they were cared for by the boy than any real feelings of anything else. Viridios respected power above all else, and from the time he had first laid eyes on the boy, first tested him, he had known that this boy wasn't like the last one. That one wanted to control him, suppress him, crush him, while this one just wanted him. It had boggled the Pokémon. No matter how vicious he acted, how cruelly he took down those who opposed him, the boy still looked at him like he was valuable. It was probably that, above all else, that had made the Pokémon state his claim on the human.

He could admit, he was protective, or maybe just possessive, of the boy. When the boy had almost been knocked off the roof while he had been held down by the rodent, he had been ready to kill someone. The boy was his, HIS, and he had been useless to do anything when his possession had almost fallen to his death.

Viridios knew his clingy behavior was simply being indulged for now and that sooner or later, the boy would get tired of it. But for now, he was pretty sure that the boy needed to feel guarded more than Viridios needed to keep an eye on his possession.

Still, he did not like that his boy had been so uncertain all morning. He especially didn't like how nothing could tear his boy out of the dark thoughts. It seemed like something had snapped in the boy, and before either he or the small star knew what was going on, they were back here. Viridios made a mental note to fill in the small star next time he saw her.

An addiction, of all things, to that heavy tainted energy. Viridios tried to hide his repulsion at the thought of his boy willingly letting that ghastly, vile energy touch him. It felt like flying to the dragon, and not the good kind. No, this felt like flying through a wall of thorns that tried to rip though flesh.

If it was what the boy needed to be able to function, though, then he supposed he would just have to put up with it.

On his part, Ash felt a hundred times more in control with the energy back in his veins. His thoughts were sharper, his mind moved more smoothly, and his body didn't feel as weighed down. He still felt like hitting himself though. He should have noticed yesterday that this might happen, and he hadn't even considered it.

He, more than the average person, knew just how tempting the power from the Abyss could be. Honestly, though, he was lucky. Yesterday, he hadn't really considered the consequences of choosing Barastyr over Anubis, he just knew that his protector had been busy and that Bara, while having less dark energy, had far more control than Anu ever could because he wasn't as attached to the Abyss. If he had, by some chance, used Anubis and tried to lock into his power, he probably would have been overwhelmed or worse. Then again, he could have gotten dragged into the Abyss right there and then if Anubis' meager control had slipped. Which might have ended with him dead anyways.

Then again, according to Sabrina, there was every chance that he could end up pulled to the other realm eventually, especially as his addiction grew.

Hiding a grimace, he made a mental note to make his way to one of the dark cities soon, probably Spikemuth seeing as there were no other big-time gyms that had dark type Pokémon as their focus. With some luck, he wouldn't need to spend the next few years researching a way to keep him tethered to this world, or at the very least able to control when he was pulled from this world. It would be inconvenient, to say the least, if he was pulled away during a gym battle, or worse, the league cup itself.

No, he was going to gain control over this thing, and to do that, he needed to understand it. He considered his options for a few minutes, keeping his hand carding through Bara's rough fur. He still had plenty of time to collect the badges he needed, more time than he probably would need, especially if one of his main flyers evolved, or Abra could teleport him around. Just because it was a tradition for newbie trainers to walk their first round of Kanto didn't mean he particularly had to.

In fact, most trainers only spent maybe a quarter of their time hunting down gym badges, the rest of it was spent training, catching new Pokémon, relaxing, or learning. If he got further behind the rest of the quintet, then as long as he managed to get his badges in the end, who really cared? He didn't, and if he got to spend some time researching his two favorite types, learning more about how to make them stronger and how to help them grow, then that was his business. His journey, every bit of it, was his to take.

He had to stop second guessing himself. It was getting annoying having to change his mind every few days. He needed to learn how to get the control and flexibility that he would need to help his team, and that meant going back to the basics.

Golden eyes looked over his team again, only Neph and Abra weren't out at the moment. He gave them a considering look wondering if they would be discouraged if he put off their next battle for a little while longer. He knew that he needed to speak to Sabrina before anything else, though. Only she would know if he would need to take Abra along, or if he would indeed be able to find him no matter where he went.

Spikemuth for the dark type library he knew they had, even if it wasn't common knowledge, and maybe Blackthorne, since they had the largest collection of dragon type information on the globe, more than any of the other dragon-based cities at least.

He glanced at his Pokémon again, this time returning Erebus and Icelos, but letting Neph out instead. He needed to make some adjustments to his team, talk to Sabrina, talk to the professor about maybe calling in a favor to let him get into the Spikemuth Underground, and go through his own research again. He knew that he was missing something obvious, like there was some piece of information he knew but couldn't remember that might help him get the control he needed over himself and his developing addiction.

With his rag-tag team behind him, they moved towards the gym, uncaring of the looks that they got from seeing a black and gold eyed boy leading a Deino, Krokorok, and Dragonair while a Vibrava clung to his back. He couldn't really bring himself to care if they were afraid, or if they appeared more disturbed than they had that morning when he had been walking around with just Pandora and V. It was their problem, not his.

By the time they made it to the gym, half of his team was more than a little annoyed, while the other half had their protective instincts more than triggered because of the hostility. To be fair, he understood. Dragons like Nephthys and V were well known for being powerful, while Pokémon like Barastyr and Anubis had a flee from sight order. He completely understood why people would be uncomfortable seeing a young trainer and that many dangerous Pokémon.

Just because he understood, though, didn't mean he wanted to deal with it, or that he didn't think they were stupid for letting the reputation of a species effect how they saw individuals, he thought angrily as he opened the main dark glass doors to the gym.

Mostly because she didn't really like psychics, Ash returned Nephthys before they could actually see anyone. He would have tried the same trick if Bara, Anu, and V would have let him. Sadly, he knew better than to bother, no matter how much he didn't like it.

He walked over to the front desk, making sure that Anu and Bara were as calm as they could be, before ringing the bell. Within seconds, a young man peeked out from the door behind the desk, seeming less than surprised by his appearance. He had a mop of chocolate brown hair on his head and light brown eyes that seemed a little glazed.

"Ash Ketchum, right?" At his nod, the man came out, handed him a folded-up piece of paper, levitated Abra's Pokéball from his belt, then walked back through the doors, leaving him alone once again. Well okay then. Thanks, he guessed.

He unfolded the paper, a little surprised to see a ticket for Hulbury in Galar that was meant to leave in a week, but it was the other thing, a photocopied page from what looked like an ancient text, that really got his attention. It looked like a poem, but from the way the pages looked on the paper, it was probably more than that. He read it carefully, feeling his eyebrow raise as he did.

**_From the depths of Regal Shadows_**

**_A victor of Gold will emerge_**

**_Two souls stolen from the other_**

**_Twin Fates will so diverge_**

**_One will ruthlessly return their home_**

**_To a noble past of Sovereignty_**

**_After taming gods and myths_**

**_Shall he make all bow on bended knee_**

**_Here be the warning to the King: _**

**_Do not falter from your path_**

**_A single misstep can leave _**

**_Four realities altered in aftermath_**

**_The other will be all but forgotten_**

**_By the cruel pages of history_**

**_Unremarkable and unseen _**

**_With hidden secrets of drowning mysteries_**

**_A caution to his loyal shadow:_**

**_Remain devoted and unseen_**

**_For the same crown for you_**

**_Would become a guillotine._**

**_Both Fates must be chosen_**

**_One of silver, the other of gold _**

**_Least both fail their world_**

**_Leaving their stories untold_**

**_Take heart in darkness, young king_**

**_Wear wisdom as a crown_**

**_Take the place of legends_**

**_Make all united bow down_**

**_The Sire shall be but a single ember_**

**_Ready to ignite the world to cinders_**

**_Until all that remains is ash_**

**_In the wind, blows unhindered._**

**_Safety shall be but a hallucination _**

**_Foes coming from all angles_**

**_Even friends could leave_**

**_Their corpses if not cautious, mangled_**

**_Should success follow the chosen_**

**_A reign of peace forever remembered._**

**_Should greed rule by force_**

**_All that remains shall be dismembered_**

He knew this story, had run across it in Professor Oak's lab a year ago actually, but he hadn't actually put any type of weight on the words. After all, the book it was in had dozens of others, and none of them had ever actually come true. Still, he had read it as a warning, of sorts, about keeping one's greed under control.

Though, he had remembered wondering exactly what the person who had written the piece had been taking, seeing as most of the rhyme was just plain silliness. Rhyming unseen with guillotine, while it technically worked, was more than a little dumb.

Shaking his head slightly, he wondered what she had in mind when she decided to print out this page of all things. Then came the exasperation when he realized exactly what the ticket meant. She foresaw him going to Galar, so she was making sure to pave the way for him to go.

It also meant that he wouldn't be able to travel with Wally any further, since the boy needed to go west towards Celadon while he, apparently, needed to head south towards Vermillion. He gave the closed-door a considering look. Seeing as the teen had just handed him the message and taken Abra deeper into the gym, he wondered why the Leader had decided not to have that conversation she had mentioned yesterday.

Giving a mental shrug, he headed back towards the Pokémon center to rearrange his team again. He knew without a doubt that he would need Oceanius for his battle with Vesper. He had never lost to the boy when they were growing up, he wasn't about to start now that he had his own team with their strengths and weaknesses. Though, admittedly, he was positive that Vesper would end up having an ice type, just to be difficult, or a fighting type because he wanted to be a jerk.

Then again, didn't Vesper have a Spheal back in Mount Moon? As a gift from the professor? Either way, he had more than one idea how to get around it, even if he wouldn't be able to use V, Anubis, or Silvanus, he could still use Oceanius, assuming he wasn't too tired, or Bara himself. Barastyr's dual typing would only help a little, but he was sure that he would find a way to beat down the crazy, irritating, cocky annoyance.

Vesper tonight, then tomorrow, he was headed south. Easy enough. He could do this.


End file.
